I often daydream about how this contemporary era will be remembered after a handful of decades; an “I Love The 80′s”-esque 3D holograph VH1 special that squashes The Matrix and Iraq/Afghanistan side-by-side with pop culture’s vampire craze and the economic collapse? Can an entire generation be so easily lumped together? Will my hover-grandkids ask me what The Cold War was like?

These two photos were taken by 14 years apart by men who lived on opposite sides of the country (San Francisco and Brooklyn, respectively). To my undiscerning eye they quite succinctly encompass an entire swath of history that is instantly reduced to (read in all caps) “BLACK AND WHITE,” “BIG CITY,” “FORMER AMERICA.” Revisionism keeps us pressing forward. For all the 2060′ers know, Mad Men paved the way for The Sopranos. Nooooo!

via Silver Lining