Description: A caption on top of the picture says “Earth is littered with the ruins of empires that believed themselves to be endless.”
Underneath is a picture of an abandoned store, on five slabs of concrete the name “Sears” is still visible.
kingthrillgore ( @KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml ) 54•2 months agoI met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Five vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the parking lot. . . . Near them, on the concrete,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And weathered lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
Welcome to Sears;
Where America Shops!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level mall halls stretch far away."
I just want to be clear for all the upvotes i’m getting, this is based off the original Ozymandias poem and not entirely an original work. But as someone who visited many a Sears in his childhood, nothing came close to describing the ennui of this meme.
notabot ( @notabot@lemm.ee ) 7•2 months agoBravo!
Fantastic!
StopJoiningWars ( @StopJoiningWars@discuss.online ) 1•2 months agoWhich AI did you use?
kingthrillgore ( @KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml ) 1•2 months agoNone, I edited it by hand.
Luci ( @Luci@lemmy.ca ) English29•2 months agoThe monoliths of SEARS have mystified scholars and travellers for years. Who built these ancient structures? What purpose did they serve? Some speculate it was a meeting ground for commerce, other believe it to be a site for mating rituals. No one knows for sure.
Master ( @Master@lemm.ee ) English18•2 months agoInterestingly enough on the winter solstice the light highlights runes that spell out SEARS. Some think this is by design but no one knows the purpose.
Ms. ArmoredThirteen ( @ArmoredThirteen@lemmy.ml ) 21•2 months agoThe remnants of the amazon fresh near me, get fucked amazon
RidderSport ( @RidderSport@feddit.org ) 6•2 months agoMaybe I am outing myself as young or as a European but what the hell is/was SEARS? And yeah I could probably google it, but I figure I can upset some people
kingthrillgore ( @KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml ) 11•2 months agoSears was a mail order/catalog company that operated out of Chicago as far back as 1892. To expand their business, they vertically integrated a lot of products sold under reliable brands (Kenmore, Craftsman) and added storefronts, typically at malls, throughout the 20th century; but eventually saw their business consumed alive by Walmart which placed stores in suburban and rural areas and slashed prices and salaries to compete. Eventually, online merchants like Amazon delivered the finishing blow. All that remains of Sears is memories.
Excrubulent ( @Excrubulent@slrpnk.net ) English6•2 months agoIt’s also worth noting that the Sears Tower was the tallest building in the world for over two decades. They were once so apparently dominant, and now almost nobody even thinks of them anymore.
kingthrillgore ( @KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml ) 5•2 months agoPeople still refuse to call it the Willis Tower.
RidderSport ( @RidderSport@feddit.org ) 5•2 months agoAh I see, quite interesting to see that it died in the USA, but there are similar companies that still exist outside of the USA - though by going with the times and going online.
kingthrillgore ( @KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml ) 3•2 months agoSears was Amazon a century before Amazon. Their mail order business drove the lions share. They thought they were invincible.
Che Banana ( @The_Che_Banana@beehaw.org ) 3•2 months agoThe circle of life: The Starbucks company headquarters is located in the old Sears building Sodo Seattle.
All Hail Starbucks.