The Future That Was

There was a time when speculative fiction and art were utterly enjoyable and deep. I'm talking about glorious sci-fi visions of the future. Things were definitely positive back then. Tall spires piercing blue skies. Primitive shapes of crafts gliding lazily in the background. Machines that did your bidding without bothering you. Humans striking elegant poses as though they had achieved all they could and where about yawn (which would probably echo through their palatial quarters). These images just wanted one to transport oneself to that moment. There was something to look forward to. Probably the last example of this was the 'Go West' video by the Pet Shop Boys.

The state of such fiction is pretty dismal today. Distopic visions of war, oppression just gang rape anything positive. It is not as if there wasn't any turmoil in Paradise, back then. Imagine a book that just concentrated on the good futuristic life - it probably would be a boring piece of work and would read like a mag that features celebrity homes & gardens. Yawn.... For a story to progress (and sell) drama must exist. Back then, there was something grandly positive to contrast with negatives of future society. Todays fiction mostly starts of in a dismal world with no hope or scope for improvement. You are forced to connect with the protagonist in a crappy situation - who towards the end barely escapes with life and limb. In effect if it was a movie you'd be taken on a wild goose chase with a lot of (usually unnecessary) special effects and amplified sound effects. 'Probably' the coolest thing on screen would be when someone makes a grand entrance and mouths of a corny-as-the-character-can-get catch phrase. Sadly this is entertainment for us today.

Too get a clearer understanding of what the future was like, check these artists out
Syd Mead and a link to the trailer of a documentary on him.
Roger Dean the man behind most of YES album covers. Check out the Up Close and Architecture pages on this site.

To conclude here is a video of the song 'I'm with stupid' by the Pet Shop Boys. This is a spoof of another Pet Shop Boys video of the song 'Can You Forgive Her'. The two funny chaps are the guys behind Little Britain.

HEALTH HAZARD!!

Finished 'Stranger in a Strange Land' by Robert A. Heinlein. Its got glowing reviews left right & centre. Whats more is that most people who I know liked it too.
Setting all that aside this is one crap book. The characters are way too artifical. The book reads like a script for a bad mono-act by the author. Women & sex are given that I'm-a-10-year-old-boy-who-discovered-Play-Boy treatment. There are some near-philosophical moments where he does make a point about religion & society. On the whole a very avoidable book.
Book Sucks!

Heinlein at his best:
Farnham's Freehold
Job
Glory Road

PS- moonjungle & moongallery will resume shortly. Rukhawat ke liye khedh hai