Why the past seems so much better...

        It isn't really. We're often shown this image of the "good ole' days".
Waxing nostalgic about the days of yore is a common pastime. Sometimes it's
even used to sell you something. But the good old fashioned values and good old
fashioned craftsmanship, it isn't real. It's what survives. Time has a way of
sifting the good from the bad. The chaff blows away, the wheat remains to feed
future generations.
        Case in point: classic science fiction. Who's ever heard of Eric Frank
Russell or Brian Aldiss? They have their loyal devotees of course. But everyone
knows who Arthur C. Clarke or Robert Heinlein are. "Oh yeah, the 2001 guy."
"The guy who they made that cool bug movie from." Films are a good way to
general fame. But films were made because the material was superior to begin
with. Not the films themselves usually. 2001 A Space Odyssey being unusual. One
of a kind. Perhaps the only "sci-fi flick" to ever find (deserved) acclaim by
the critics.
        Another case: They just don't build 'em like that anymore. Well perhaps
they don't. Perhaps nothing manufactured in the age of the disposable will
survive into the future. Old cars survive because they are the fittest. The
ones that car lovers chose to make it. The lemons, the failures are not saved.
Will a Pacer or a Trabant see the year 2101? Well people can be perverse so I
wouldn't place a wager on it either way. But I'm pretty sure we'll see 1964
Mustangs for a long time.