The Times They Are A-Changin'

Someone helpfully pointed out the aforementioned fact to me in the comments last week (and added a decidedly incorrect—both politically and personally—slur which I shall not repeat), and I've gotta say, they're right. Thank you, Mr. Anonymous. Then again, it's interesting that you'd choose to quote a song written in 1964 to complain that I'M too caught up in the past. Interesting.

The problem, of course, isn't with progress. I love progress. I'm not sitting here typing this on an IBM Selectric, am I? Were I a true retrogrouch, I'd be Xeroxing copies of a zine and mailing them around the world.

Regardless.

What I'm against, as it should be readily apparent, is the re-appearance of bad ideas that I thought were long since dead. The one-piece seat/post combo? I thought we killed that off in the '80s. But those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it, and so on and so forth. I can't wait until mag wheels get popular again. "Oh man, you don't even have to TRUE them!"

Anyway, I thought a verse from the Dylan song would be appropriate here:

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

I don't know what it all means, but it sounds good, I guess. Although since it uses the words "wheel" and "spin" in the same sentence, I can't help but feel a little nervous.

Also, since the effects of "times a-changin'" led to Dylan himself going from this:




to this:



you'll pardon me if I don't take the expression too seriously.


And if you're happy about the trend of bikes going from this:


to this:



maybe you're on the wrong blog.