What do you think the Aughts (2000-2009) will be known for? / LJWorld.com

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Asked at The Merc, 901 Iowa St. on December 23, 2009

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“I’m hoping they’re known for getting a handle on our environmental issues.”

— John Hood, Book dealer, Lawrence

“The realization that the United States is no longer the ‘top dog’ in the world, politically and economically.”

— Tom Kurata, software sales, Lawrence

“The mayhem that has been texting, chatting, blogging. The media explosion and how everybody knows everybody’s business.”

— Julie Alley, music teacher, Corsicana, Texas

“Excess, people spending too much money.”

— Vickie Goetz, nurse, Lawrence

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Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

CGI and autotune. both of which are overused shortcuts to real art.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

spacehog, is that for real?

autie, when is the last year the escort was manufactured? lol

RoeDapple 3 years, 5 months ago

an cuzins two but i cant talk boutit

snap_pop_no_crackle 3 years, 5 months ago

multi, I would add Buskers to your B list.

Ricky_Vaughn 3 years, 5 months ago

The debacle that was G.W..... 9/11...... KU's National Title..... Iraq & Afghan War..... the loss of James Brown and Rick James..... the rise and fall of Chappelle's Show...... the rise and fall of using "Matrix" style fighting in movies(thank God its over).... the fall of MJ..... Zack's Cy Young..... the election of Obama(at least in terms of breaking a color barrier, we'll see about the rest)..... the fall of the Chiefs...... social networking web sites.....

Just to name a few. Happy Holidays! Here's to a better decade!

salad 3 years, 5 months ago

It will be known for epic darkness that was the Bush administration.

Ricky_Vaughn 3 years, 5 months ago

Creepy....James Brown actually died on Christmas Day, 2006....

nobody1793 3 years, 5 months ago

The war on Tara.

snap_pop_no_crackle 3 years, 5 months ago

Remember, remember the 4th of November The ACORN treason and plot And what the media did to help And the pig in the poke that we've got

CWGOKU 3 years, 5 months ago

The 2000's were a silly waste, like the 70's. Spacehog, you all still doing Christmas? I gotta be there!

boltzmann 3 years, 5 months ago

Bankers, Governors, Senators, Congressmen and Golfers being nAUGHTy

DRsmith 3 years, 5 months ago

The beginning of the Socialist movement.

jonas_opines 3 years, 5 months ago

"The beginning of the Socialist movement."

Pretty sure that happened at least more than a century ago.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years, 5 months ago

Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World

Happy National Pfeffernuesse Day.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

ricky, actually, i would say the fall and then the posthumous rise of mike. he hasn't been so popular since the late 80s.

so many REALLY famous people (mike, farrah, swayze, kronkite, ed mcmahon) died this year along w/ alot of kind of famous people.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

tom, which prez was that? clinton? because i know you're not talking about dubya.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

boltz, i know, right? most of which (if not all-- i didn't do an inventory in my head) were men. what's up w/ that?

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

i don't know who that waka1 person is, autie, since i have only been on here since may, but spacehog rocks. love that guy!

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

yeh, and getting DUIs. he had a few of those back in his sowing-wild-oats days too, didn't he?

snap_pop_no_crackle 3 years, 5 months ago

We're ending the decade with an occupant of the White House who cares so little for his own blood kin that his aunt is both living in poverty and is an illegal alien. At least Dear Leader can get his nose candy direct from the DEA these days.

Cappy 3 years, 5 months ago

W had a pair of cap guns he wore in the holsters of his cowboy outfit. Someone give him a cookie and tell him he was nice boy.

Should it be aughts or noughts? I think it was a decade that was all for nought.

salad 3 years, 5 months ago

TomShewmon (Tom Shewmon) says… "A president with a pair, who was hated for having that pair."

Pair of what? Brain cells? Certainly you couldn't be refering to the coward who got his daddy to pull strings to hide out in the Texas Air Guard because he didn't wanna go serve in Vietnam with real bullets and death. Or the coward who got his daddys friends to bail him out of every business deal he ruined, and make his legendary drug use go away. You mean that guy? Or, Tom, do you just mean that "Compared to Tom Shewmon he's got a pair"? BTW, how come you never actually went and joined up for your guys wars, Tom/right_thinker??? Cowardly??? Or just all talk, no walk?

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

salad: "Pair of what? Brain cells?"

bwahahahahahahaha! gasp hahahahhahahahaha!!! :D

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

dude, nothing obama has done or can do is going to add credibility to what dubya did/didn't do. NOTHING.

Ricky_Vaughn 3 years, 5 months ago

I just meant that MJ hit rock bottom in the aughts...the molestation trial...then death...

He had essentially turned into a punch line during this decade...until he died, or did he?

@ snap

The guy with the affinity for nose candy? That would be your idol, dubya. Keep the facts straight!

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years, 5 months ago

space, Aught, naught, nought, zero, zilch, oh... What ever what you want to call it, it is just a zero.

But, I would never say seven millimeter-aught eight to refer to the greatest all around cartridge in the world, nor would I call it the seven millimeter zero eight, it is refered to as the seven millimeter Oh eight. The best utilitarian round would be the 6.8 SPC in an AR-15 platform.
Hope that clears things up for you.

Ricky_Vaughn 3 years, 5 months ago

LOL....pair of brain cells...

Face it, Tom. The Republicans screwed the pooch during this decade. Nothing you can say is going to change that. Happy Holidays!

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

ricky, you're right re: mike having been a punchline until his death.

i am 42 so i grew up listening to the J5, the jacksons then mike as a solo artist. about 4 years ago i bought the dvd of his number one hits (the videos). my kids were like "why did you buy THAT?!" i replied, "because michael jackson was awesome at one time and i still really love alot of his music". they turned up their noses... til they saw the videos. then they got quiet and shut their little yappers up. a couple of months after that, one of my teenagers, who is now a freshman at hutch community college, started buying mike's albums and listening to them on his own. he then started watching the videos and practicing some of mike's dance moves. lol now he has posters on his wall.

i noticed that alot of folks followed suit after mike passed away... not sure why. maybe it was one of those not appreciating someone until they are gone things. i have no idea. but i was really sad when he died. as a teenager and into adulthood i was much more into prince but there really isn't any comparison of those two artists. one is a pure performer and one is more of a musician's musician. so i kind of get tired of people mentioning them in a comparitive way.

anyway, RIP to alot of great recording artists from the aught decade... as you mentioned, rick james, james brown, ray charles-- and those are just some of the more famous names.

feeble 3 years, 5 months ago

The polarization of partisan politics in America, with over 100 votes for cloture in 2008 AND 2009.

That, and the rickroll.

ihatelv 3 years, 5 months ago

Who the hell are the Aughts?

billbodiggens 3 years, 5 months ago

extreme liberals and extreme conservatives screaming "ME" so loudly and long that there is not an ounce of difference between the two crowds of loud mouth frogs. It's all about me - the world be damned.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years, 5 months ago

Why all the negativity? We are so close to the celebration of the bastard child's birthday.

Ricky_Vaughn 3 years, 5 months ago

Funny you said Ray Charles, Mel. I was listening to "Georgia On My Mind" while I was reading your post...such a beautiful song.

MJ's music will always have special meaning to me...the first time I ever danced with my fiancee was to "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough". I'm 28, so during my childhood, Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson owned the entertainment world back then. I even remember playing the Moonwalker video game at Le Mans back in the day...ah memories.

Ricky_Vaughn 3 years, 5 months ago

By the way...I'm done with the political banter today. I'd rather think about more pleasant things.

Damian666 3 years, 5 months ago

I just got a call to expect the soul of R_I soon.

labmonkey 3 years, 5 months ago

The beginning of the downfall of the United States.

One president took away freedoms with the Patriot Act, another with health care "reform" and Cap and Trade (if it gets passed).

More horrible congresses than usual with Republicans spending like drunken Democrats, and the Democrats trying to one (trillion) up them.

The total loss of common sense in the United States and the world. People buying houses with less than 5% down and basically two mortgages. Credit card debt at an all time high. Loss of pride in purchases where most Americans don't even think to look at the label to see where things are made.

Loss of common sense in environmentalism. Saving the rainforest, clean oceans, getting us off foreign oil...good. We praise Brasil for having like 90% of thier car fleet run on biofuels because of the reduction in emissions....but where did these biofuels come from? Sugar cane and soybeans. And what used to grow where these are planted? The friggin rainforest!!!!!!!!!!! Smaller countries run by despots demanding climate reparations from the United States, and we with leadership stupid enough to actually pay them.

I really wonder if Bin Laden and his ilk actually won.

dajudge 3 years, 5 months ago

RIP Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. 'nuff said.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

ricky, my boyfriend and son (the HCC student) both have played the moonwalker video game and said it was actually pretty good. my son said that he heard they are supposed to be reissuing it.

ray charles was terrific, was he not? i grew up listening to his music. my mom had a few of his albums and i tell ya, whenever i hear america the beautiful sang by him, i stop whatever i'm doing and i listen.

labmonkey 3 years, 5 months ago

Tom-

If it weren't for the Republicans totally f**king up, we would not have Obama or this congress now. The blame needs to be spread equally.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

i agree judge. johnny cash and june carter cash were great as well. like i said, we lost some true music legends this decade. RIP to all of them.

Ricky_Vaughn 3 years, 5 months ago

I grew up on blues (thanks, dad), so Ray has a special place in my heart. Barry White is another one I just remembered that left us this decade.

Ricky_Vaughn 3 years, 5 months ago

BTW, I thought Jamie Fox was excellent in Ray.

Ricky_Vaughn 3 years, 5 months ago

Luther Vandross too...

Ricky_Vaughn 3 years, 5 months ago

So many soul men we've lost this decade!

Ricky_Vaughn 3 years, 5 months ago

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Who's still alive?

snap_pop_no_crackle 3 years, 5 months ago

I was going to say the release of "Fight Club", but that was in 1999. Could we adjust the data to hide the decline of quality in mainstream cinema?

Cappy 3 years, 5 months ago

The decade should be called the Oughts. We ought to have counted all the votes. We ought to have told the Supreme Court to stay out of Florida's bidness. We ought to have addressed terrorism before 9/11. We ought to have prevented the stupid Iraqi war. We ought to have impeached the man-child president. Oh well, at least we ought to be proud that we elected Obama.

Oh, and when we get the transcripts of the illegally deleted Bush emails, we ought to see that he and Cheney get some jail time.

MeAndFannieLou 3 years, 5 months ago

A stolen election, Sept. 11th, a war of aggression, an outed CIA agent, a great American city flooded, torture, Guantanamo. And I didn't think anything would ever top the '80s!

Overseas, the mother of all tsunamis, the earthquake in China, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

Was there any good news?

snap_pop_no_crackle 3 years, 5 months ago

We can celebrate the wisdom of the American voters for keeping Al Gore & John Kerry from becoming President. Some of American voters may be wishing for a do-over regarding the 2008 results.....

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

i think memento was one of the best movies of the 00s.

luther left us too, ricky. like you said, alot of great soul men. and lest we forget isaac hayes. he is best known for his score to shaft but he was a brilliant songwriter, arranger and musician period.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

really?

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

i agree w/ mult. i think that one of the main things the 00s will be known for is the internet. i realize it actually was available for public usage as early as 1994 but most folks weren't using it until the end of the 90s and early 00s.

snap, sometimes i think you're an alright person and other times you make some asinine comments and i really start to wonder about you...

bob, i love cheeseballs w/ crackers. mm mm good. i like hummus too. especially when it is not the prepackaged variety (which is good too but not as good as the kind they actually make in restaurants) and it is served w/ warm pieces of pita bread. love it!

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

me&fannie: "And I didn't think anything would ever top the '80s!"

that decade was wild in its own right though.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

i like cheese and crackers as a snack at home too. i was born in milwaukee, so perhaps i came by my love of cheese from being hatched up there.

someone at work made a really good veggie appetizer. she used crescent roll dough. she said she took it, spread it out and baked it, then she took a mixture (cream cheese/mayonnaise/hidden valley ranch seasoning) and spread it on the dough (probably once it had cooled a bit), after which she took bits of chopped fresh veggies (broc/cauli/carrot/green pepper) and spread it on the mixture. she sprinkled a little cheese on top and let it chill overnight. it was yummy w/ a capital Y.

puddleglum 3 years, 5 months ago

the Rise and Fall of Tom Shewmon

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

had any other prez been THIS scrutinized after less than one year in office? how about FDR? he has as much of a mess to straighten out as obama... was everyone riding his butt and criticizing his every move as well or were people just so downtrodden w/ the depression that they left the president to his job and let him handle his business?

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

.... so is anyone giving out awards for LJW bloggers/posters? biggest flamer? most consistently funniest? most esoteric? most pragmatic? most laughable even though he/she wasn't trying to be funny??.... i think someone should start that thread. since i am relatively new i don't know enough folks on here so i don't think i should be the one to start it.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

** oops, most consistently funniest. yeh, i know, the double superlative wasn't needed nor is it grammatically correct.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

tom, i agree. maybe we should have like 2nd and 3rd runners up and of course, 1st. that would be hard tho. i think that trolls shouldn't qualify tho. and by troll i mean people who create alternate accounts solely to post some bulls**t. they shouldn't even be considered because that is encouraging their pettiness and double-anonymity.

spacehog, first of all, i just want you to know, i am a fan. you rock, dude. you are so funny and at times, dare i say, witty? there-- i said it. irreverant but not to the point of being overly twisted.

as for jay z, i knew about that song but found it a bit hypocritical considering kanye is on his label and he made an entire album in autotune (which sucked major moose butt, i might add). i am not really a fan of jay but i do admire his business smarts and i do like that song he did w/ alicia keyes.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

.... so i guess jacob wouldn't qualify for any awards because didn't several of you say that he used to be invictus or infection or something like that?.....

Ricky_Vaughn 3 years, 5 months ago

I loved Memento too, Mel! I agree with you on Obama being over-scrutinized (though I expected it).

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years, 5 months ago

Pluto losing it's planet status... :(

Ricky_Vaughn 3 years, 5 months ago

All I can think of when I read Jacob123's posts is Hank Hill saying "That boy ain't right".

labmonkey 3 years, 5 months ago

mel-

Yes, Bush and the Republicans created a mess....but how is that an excuse for Obama and the Democrats to do what they did, but many trillions of dollars worse? You don't correct overspending by spending more.

Ricky_Vaughn 3 years, 5 months ago

In a down economy, someone has to start spending money to get things going. FDR did the same thing to pull us out of the Great Depression.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years, 5 months ago

By the way…I'm done with the political banter today. I'd rather think about more pleasant things. - Ricky_Vaughn

FDR? Tore apart the Constitution, shredded Article I, Section 8. "The United States Constitution has proved itself the most marvelously elastic compilation of rules of government ever written". - FDR

At some point elasticity fails and things are torn.

jaywalker 3 years, 5 months ago

This'll be the decade known for spawning reality TV. God help us all.

ivalueamerica 3 years, 5 months ago

The worst president in History followed by someone who could not clean up his mess, no matter how hard he tried....it was just to big of a mess.

TopJayhawk 3 years, 5 months ago

The attempts by an embarrasingly out of touch socialist that we have for president. the attempt by him to turn us into a totally socialist state complete with taking away our freedoms and liberty, and to allow the gubment to dictate how we live our lives. The first president to actually BOW DOWN to muslim dictators and Kings. Yet not to the Queen of England. Interesting don't you think? Why is that. Religion, or color? Pitifull.

BigPrune 3 years, 5 months ago

The decade the grown up hippies took over and ran our town into the ground. That's what this past decade will be known for, at least locally, no matter how they try to spin it and revise history, because it is true. The sacred cow Horizon 2020 never took into account all the growth Lawrence experienced in the 1990's. A sacred cow the City grasps ahold of tightly that cannot be deviated from as an excuse to carry on their anti-growth mentality and further ruin our reputation.

Is Lawrence better off today then it was 10 years ago? It is easy to surmise the answer is, "No."

ivalueamerica 3 years, 5 months ago

Jesus was a Socialist.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

value, yes, he was wasn't he? :) jesus was a cool cat. i still want one of those "jesus is my homeboy" shirts.

jaywalker, good point. reality TV is definitely a 00s thing. didn't survivor come out toward the end of 99 or the beginning of 2000? and altho there were other reality shows (cops, the real world) before that, survivor really ushered in the whole reality-based competition show that we all know and cough love.

ricky, you're cool peeps. you enjoy good music, good movies and you seem to keep a good balance between debating serious topics and having a good laugh. and, oh, i effing heart king of the hill!! i am thinking about buying some episodes on DVD (RIP brittany murphy a/k/a luanne). and when you posted that hank hill quote, i could actually hear him say that! :)

spacehog, i like alicia keyes... in doses. it maybe a "halfrican" thing-- alot of the time i admittedly patronize entertainers who are of the same persuassion as myself. maybe its because, growing up, us mixed kiddos had almost no one in the media (entertainment, sports, politics, etc) who were like us so now, there are alot of us in the spotlight, and i tend to take notice and yes, have some pride in my beige kin. speaking of which, i am wondering when sade's new album is coming out... i heard about 6 months ago that she has a new one FINALLY coming out but haven't heard anything else since... she cuts a new album once per decade it seems.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

todd, you know i have genuinely wondered how dubya will fare in the rankings of most effective presidents... my dad said once before that eisenhower wasn't especially liked (not disliked but not the big cuddle muffin of an icon that we know of now) back in the 50s. he said that 20-30 years later, after people got a little hindsight, eisenhower was thought of as a pretty effective president and that is how it usually is... a couple or three decades have to go by before historians have enough objectivity to rank presidents w/out biases and/or the emotional attachments.

whenever i read polls by historians citing the top prezzes, it usually has lincoln and both roosevelts up toward the top, and then you might see washington or jefferson or someone from waaaay back when. when i see the worst presidents it usually had harding and many times hoover toward the bottom. in all seriousness, i wonder if when my kids are my age now, if they will be putting geo. w. bush down there w/ harding (who was said to have raped a 14 year old) or if he will just float around toward the bottom third?.... i guess only time will tell.

BigPrune 3 years, 5 months ago

I don't think you can safely claim Bush Jr. as bottom third. We have no idea of what he had to do behind the scenes. I wonder how many major terrorist attacks were thwarted after 9/11? In 25 years, when the government lets secrets out, who knows? His actions may have averted a major nuclear attack in one of our cities, or contained a serious biological weapon attack without people getting hurt or killed - then again, he may not have had to do anything above either, only time will tell.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 5 months ago

prune, in 25 years when the govt lets secrets out? what govt are you talking about? we still don't know what really happened w/ the whole JFK thing and that vault was supposed to be "unsealed" back in the 90s.

seriously, tho, i think the mishandling of hurricane katrina as well as the weapons o' mass destruction debaucle will not allow him to be posted too highly in the annals of U.S. presidential history. i am not saying he will be down at the bottom, hanging out w/ harding and hoover, but i will say that i highly doubt he will be ranked above, say, carter.

just my opinion, of course.