People my age, a bit older. We couldn't figure out if the culture had passed us by or we had passed the culture. I hadn't ever heard of this guy, though clearly he was talented and accomplished. None of us had heard of the Super Bowl halftime entertainment, either. I won't comment on their talent or accomplishment. That seems to be happening a lot.

It's not as if we've forgotten, we never knew.

At one time I thought of the Academy Awards as a measure of excellence, an acknowledgement of superior accomplishment. I gradually came to think of them as simply self-promotion for the industry, with the award basically an economic and political function. There seem to be awards of one type or another every other week. I do believe that many Academy Award winners are superior actors, actresses and movies, but are they be best? Maybe, but I doubt it. Consequently I haven't paid attention to it.

More and more of life has become that. A car is not a measure of worth or stature, it is a way to get from here to there. Period. A house is shelter, warmth, a place to work and relax. It is not prestige, and those that are used for that have wasted a lot of money. One can only occupy so much space at one time.

We used to call that "culture shock", returning to a nation which had inexplicably changed. Only now it's a change of individual focus, what's worth devoting a limited consciousness to and what isn't. Life get's narrower as one's perspective gets broader.

It's an interesting trip.