Lava lamp
The era of the sixties and seventies will not go down in history as
the era of good taste. But among all the crazy trends of those decades
is one that I still hold a fond remembrance for: the lava lamp. If you
are too young to remember lava lamps. I'll describe one. Picture a
wiggly glass tube. filled with slimy liquids that are in the most
incredible colors of purple. neon green. hot pink. etc. Lumps of some
blobby material floated through this mass of color as it undulated in
the tube. Sounds lovely. no? Yet. whenever I was around a lava lamp. I
would be mesmerized by the slowly swirling colors and the floating
blobs. I found it very relaxing and would further enhance this
experience with the aroma of joss sticks and the sound of sitar music. I
felt that lava lamps were a harmless way to relax and chill out. Lava
lamps are still available today. and I imagine they are being purchased
by children of the sixties to recreate that era or by young people of
today who enjoy a retro look. Despite their inherent ugliness. I still
find them relaxing and oddly comforting. Maybe I equate them with an age
when I was still young. optimistic and had dreams. I have even
considered buying one. knowing full well that it would clash with
everything in my home. I don't know how I would explain it to my cool.
Ikea-decorated friends. The appeal of contrast? An ironic comment? In
thinking about it. I realize it would not be such a good idea. Back in
those days. I could afford to sit around in a dreamlike state; today. I
have way too much to do. The modern version of the lava lamp is the
Plasma Lamp. They do not have the appeal of lava lamps to me. They seem
like something out of a science lab or clinical experiment. Lava lamps
have a personal appeal. almost with a soul of their own. The best ones
were the purple ones. especially if viewed while listening to Jimi
Hendrix' Purple Haze. I believe you can make a valid character judgement
about someone based on their preferred lava lamp color. Some
psychologist should conduct a study on it. |