I was listening to the traffic channel on my way home from work an hour or so ago and heard at least the fifth mention this week of July 1 being the 30th anniversary of the Sony Walkman.  Here are two of the more interesting nuggets I came across:

link to original | source: [WTOP news] | published: 2009 July 1 22:07 EDT

link to original | source: [BBC News Magazine] | published: 2009 June 29 11:10 BST

When the Sony Walkman was launched, 30 years ago this week, it started a revolution in portable music. But how does it compare with its digital successors? The [BBC News] Magazine invited 13-year-old Scott Campbell to swap his iPod for a Walkman for a week.

The classic walkman explained:

1. Clunky buttons
2. Switch to metal (that's a type of cassette, not heavy rock music
3. Battery light - usually found flickering in its death throes
4. Double headphone jack (not to be found on an iPod)
5. Door ejects - watch out for flying tapes and eye injuries

Possibly the thing I find most serendipitous about all this walkman hullabaloo is that a few weeks ago when my parents were cleaning out their basement, they came across an old Fisher Price record player that I had when I was a kid.  That's not all that noteworthy, but they gave it to me.  Ever since, Alexei and I have been getting our daily dose of vinyl.

Yes, I'm sure cassettes were an amazing thing in their time, but for me (and my kids), LPs are where it's at!