They Can't Take Away Our Memories

     Have you ever wondered to yourself: "What's the single greatest thing that the capitalism has deprived me of?" Well, here's the answer:

     If you were a child born after 1970 or so, you should remember a popcorn maker similar to this, and if you were born before that, well, you should remember it too, because popcorn isn't solely for children. I picked up the model shown here, the Wear-Ever Popcorn Pumper, at the thrift store a couple weeks ago, but only got to use it tonight. It's been a long, long time, and the memories came popping back as the popcorn shot out of the chute and I scrambled to catch the strays. That's one thing capitalism can't take away: the memories.
     Now, you can still buy these new, so I guess I'm being a little harsh by saying that the sturdy old capitalist Orville Redenbacher and his kind ripped these contraptions from us. But the fact is that microwave popcorn has largely replaced this type of popcorn maker in most American households. Except I can't figure out why.
     It's certainly not the money. Once the machine is purchased, which even for a brand new basic model is only $20.00 or so, the bags of corn for popping is pretty cheap. I made two loads the size of the bowl above and I think it must have only cost 50 cents, if that. And it uses a lot less energy than a microwave.
     It's not a speed thing. The popcorn above took less than three minutes to pop, probably closer to two, and look how much there is. Microwave popcorn takes longer than that.
     I don't think it can be convenience, because all you have to do is plug this thing in and dump the kernels on, and melt better on the convenient melting tray if you want. And it's convenient to clean, because all you need to clean is the butter melting tray. Besides, it's more convenient as far as actually making the popcorn, because you don't have to wait until there are a couple seconds between pops or whatever ridiculous thing you have to do with microwave popcorn, because once it's popped with the machine, it's out for good.
     And that's another plus: no burning, ever. It's impossible. The same can hardly be said for microwave popcorn.
     The machine is much more entertaining, and that's an indisputable fact.
     Lastly, it's healthier. You control how much of what goes on the popcorn, and since it uses hot air instead of oil, there are much less calories from fat than popcorn prepared in other ways.
     So yeah, while using this, all these things struck me, and I was confused as to why microwave popcorn gained such popularity, but I'm glad that I had stumbled upon this machine. So do yourselves all a favor, and buy one of these. You won't regret it, in fact, you'll probably regret all the times that you didn't have one. 

    
     P.S. Inception was really good, a top-notch thrill-ride to the deepest depths of your, or rather Leonardo DeCaprio's, mind. It was a little mind-warping, what with all kinds of meta-meta-dream stuff going on, but not too bad. Unless you were above 75, because the patrons of the theater who met that criteria could be heard groaning about how they didn't understand what went on, or how confused they were. I've got a theory it's because of the world they grew up in vs. the one we grew up in: theirs was definitely more unidimensional, whereas ours is so much more multi-dimension oriented, so our minds are better equipped to deal with meta-things better. Whatever, all I know is that Christopher Nolan has another hit on his hands, and I had to pee for three quarters of the movie but didn't want to miss a second. One word: Paradox.