I also don't seem to recall these kinds of posts hitting front page much until recently. What is this? A new wave of nostalgia for long lost past on the internet? Hacker News demographic change? Discovery of a new marketing vector? Or just me seeing a pattern where there is none?
Turns out, the girl–in the most respectful way–is just an ordinary person, and the photographer asked her to hold an umbrella, because he felt it would be a good idea. It was a good idea, and many years later the creative result has risen to the surface.
It's like when you go to a concert and witness a special moment that rocks you, and then years later you find out it has millions of views on YouTube. It's democratic validation that we are experiencing beautiful moments all the time, and that we don't need a Tony Hawk to validate them. You could argue that this wouldn't be seen without Tony, or you can reflect upon the many moments that aren't validated, and yet are filled with beauty.
That one photo (and the collection of photos from the 70s linked in the article) say a lot about culture, about identity, about life and how things have evolved (or not evolved, or devolved) since then.
It's a story too about celebrity, and how this picture exists in this moment, today, because a celebrity found and shared it. It's completely distorted this woman's day to day. While it seems like a positive for her, it highlights just how much power celebrity has in our mental economies. Should one person have the ability to completely blow up someone else's routine like this? I dunno! But social media definitely facilitates it!
There's a ton of very interesting topics to cover here, in addition to the ones you raise, and I don't think they really are that inconsequential!
I.e. there's no amount of money you can spend today to make something 45 years old
So as we increasingly move into a materially post-scarcity developed world, time becomes the last scarce thing.
It overlaps with nostalgia, but there's also a big component of novelty/rarity. See previous example of tracking down that song that was written for the X-Files and playing in the background in a single bar scene.
Also, me blowing my friends' minds with a record I have of Richard Harris (now, "Dumbledore") reading selections from The Prophet: https://www.amazon.com/Kahlil-Gibran-Prophet-Musical-Interpr...
I think many people here like the deep dives, and well written stories, about some specific interest.
Skating in the rain is great, everyone should try it!
Power slides were so much fun in the rain.
I am right handed but would ride a skateboard the same way. I never even tried with my left foot forward. Even visualizing it feels wrong. I wonder why this is the apparently uncommon stance? Some people I think prefer to use their dominant foot to push, but it’s easier to keep my balance when my dominant foot is on the board.
Yup was going to comment that I didn't know if left-handed were more likely to be goofy but back in my skateboarding days I definitely had right-handed friends who were goofy instead of regular.
> ... but it’s easier to keep my balance when my dominant foot is on the board
My daughter (who's not goofy but reglar), for a reason I don't understand, prefer to push with her front foot while keeping her back foot on the board. It's not how I told her.
1. https://blog.benw.xyz/2013/11/the-real-goofy-vs-regular-a-lo...
https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-asymmetric-bra...
The above also notes there are similar (semi-)independent preferences for hearing and seeing too.
First time I saw people push off with their back foot it seemed so weird. But I think they were mostly natural not goofies.