Heh heh.

Since time immemorial grownups have been wondering what the world is coming to with the way young people dress, speak and act these days, whatever the days were. If you read contemporary literature from any point in history you will find that when the authors were young, young people were respectful and appreciative and listened to their elders (the fact that their elders disagreed at the time is irrelevant).

30 years from now some middle-aged middle manager will be driving his kids around saying, "You kids don't even know what good rap-metal IS! You should have heard some of the great rap-metal artists when I was young... You know what I call that stuff you listen to? CRAP metal!"

And when he gets home he'll sigh and sit in his easy chair with a glass of iced Chablis and watch a black-tie gala Limp Bizkit reunion on PBS.

Oftener than not, it's not that young people *can't* speak in a way that grownups can understand, but rather, why would they want to?

Cheers.

my boss listens to zepplin and floyd at work (a multi-billion dollar health-care company) and i listen to audioslave and soundgarden. we both wear suits every day and act like normal corporate employees, just like people did back in the 70's and 80's and probably the 50's too (i don't think anyone was normal in the 60's). every generation is different but the basic formula never changes. my kids will probably listen to pink noise and call it music and i'll tell them it's crap...

while i believe the general quality of modern music peaked in the 90's (there's a shocker for ya ) i do agree that education is going downhill.

Really drifting off topic, but this talk of generational entropy has reminded me of a funny movie you may not have seen called Idiocracy. Check it out.

The original concept for the film was stolen, I think, from an old science-fiction short story called "Marching Morons" by C.M. Cornbluth (if memory serves). That's worth seeking out, too.

i'll have to check those out. also, back on topic, boycott monster cable.

ORIGINAL: jacktheexcynic

my boss listens to zepplin and floyd at work (a multi-billion dollar health-care company) and i listen to audioslave and soundgarden. we both wear suits every day and act like normal corporate employees, just like people did back in the 70's and 80's and probably the 50's too (i don't think anyone was normal in the 60's). every generation is different but the basic formula never changes. my kids will probably listen to pink noise and call it music and i'll tell them it's crap...

while i believe the general quality of modern music peaked in the 90's (there's a shocker for ya ) i do agree that education is going downhill.

I listen to grindcore, deathmetal, and other stuff most would frown upon. I work as a manager. Most people are suprised to find out what I'm into. I've had kids that work for me see me at a show, and be amazed at the horrible vulgarity coming out of me.

The point is though, when I'm at work you'd never know it. If I went to a job interview, you'd never know it.

Yeah. Kids of every generation change, and deviate away from and most often AGAINST the generation before them. When I was 16, I swore, used a lot of slang, and said "like", "dude", "rad", etc.. more often than real words in my sentences. But if you sent me to a job interview, I could turn it off and present myself. It was a trend, not a basic education. Kids nowadays are no longer learning the real skills. I conducted three interviews last monday. I immediately had to disqualify TWO of the applicants because they SWORE during the interview. Some say "kids will be kids", but personally I believe we have an entire generation of ****s on our hands.

Welcome to post-literate America. The anti-brains have become so mainstream that they've pushed what used to be average intelligence almost completely underground. If you look at advertising and television, rock-stupid is the new normal. Sometimes I'm surprised that Jeopardy! is still on the air; it certainly couldn't survive on any of the other major networks.

Is there a possibility that the nail has been hit on the head rather than straying off topic?

The something for nothing theory. "Old school" would have suggested you put out a good product, word of mouth spreads the news, you work hard and you earn a good living.

You get what you deserve.

Suing people is not part of your business plan and people don't inherently owe you squat.

Seems as each generation takes the wheel there is an advance in technology and a decline in common business sense.

Book smart and reality stupid smack dab into a culture that is so dependant on the electronic cash register... we can no longer count change.

A ray of hope?

Still think you get what you deserve... wouldn't want to be Monster.

Widespread functional illiteracy could explain a lot. Britney Spears, Back Street Boys, Spice Girls, Chicken McNuggets, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader, Wal-Mart, Guitar Center, America's Next Top Model, Hummers, caps worn backward, sweaters worn backward, five-dollar coffee, cars that parallel park for you, belief in angels but not trolls, designating the job of President as an entry-level position.

You might be on to something, Mike.

Yeah, Guitar Center. Check your brain at the door with that little turnstile. You want a high-end Jackson? No way -- just the ****ty ones that kids can afford. Same with Ibanez. Want to play through an amp loud enough to hear yourself? No chance -- they're blasting some lame nu metal band through the house system, so loud that you can't hear the 2x12 in your face. Want to talk to a salesman who has any clue what the hell he's talking about? Forget it. I've had my fun with those ass-clowns; bought some stuff that my favorite indy store didn't carry, scooped up an RG520 in mint condition for $199, but my god are they worthy of whatever contempt I can muster. You're better off going to Sam Ash. Plus, Sam has some alternatives to the Monster Kable.

I haven't scrolled through this entire thread, but there is some definite confusion of concepts going on in a lot of the posts.

A trademark, like "Monster Cable", designates the origin of goods or services. In order to win a trademark suit, the trademark owner has to prove either (1) possibility of confusion, or (2) dilution (more or less the same thing as denigration of the mark by association with things unsavory).

"Monster" would seem to be only a semi-strong mark: in connection with audio cables, it is arbitrary, but it is also an ordinary English word. I haven't researched Monster Cable's record of success, but I strongly doubt they could actually win a lawsuit against any company using "Monster" to designate non-audio goods or services. A quick check of the USPTO website shows that many, many other companies have successfully registered trademarks with the word "Monster" in the name.

Copyright, by contrast, is the right to prevent the copying of a work of authorship. A song, movie, book, or poem can be copyrighted. A name of a business cannot be.

In the world of patents, there is a doctrine called "patent misuse." The basic idea is that if the owner of a patent misuses the monopoly power the patent legally affords, the patent can be declared unenforceable. There is a movement afoot, started by Prof. Lessing of Stanford, to extend this doctrine to copyright, so that, e.g., a recording company that took too aggressive a view to its right to royalties could find its copyright unenforceable in any circumstances. I imagine a similar defense could be tried against companies trying nuisance-suit shakedowns in trademark cases.

It's certainly true that paying a nuisance settlement may make more economic sense than fighting a legal battle. But our system actually has good protections in place. E.g., when a lawsuit really is frivolous, there is a basic rule ("Rule 11") that allows both the frivolous party, and its lawyers, to be financially penalized -- courts definitely do impose these penalties, and they are often huge.