Tag Archives: Idiocracy
There have been good science fiction movies and TV shows going at least back to Metropolis. Of course, there is always Sturgeon’s Law, so we’ve also had ten times as many that were bad in one way or another. A few were memorably awful; a few are remembered as classics.
When it comes to fantastical material, I’m convinced books are best. Animation is a distant second, and live action can often be a mistake, depending on the material. Too much realism in visualizing the fantastic collapses the wavefunction of our imagination.
But our imagination is the best part, and it needs exercise!
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8 Comments | tags: Aldous Huxley, Discworld, Idiocracy, science fiction, science fiction books, SF, SF Books, Thorne Smith | posted in Books, Sci-Fi Saturday
In every literary genre (in every type of art, really), there are classics that stand out and often participate in forming the language, or at least some of the territory, of the genre. That is part of what makes these works classics. (Lord of the Rings is an ultimate classic — all Medieval fantasy since is in reference to it.)
I suspect all serious readers have a classic or two they’ve never gotten around to. Last week I finally got around to reading the classic science fiction novel, Brave New World (1932), by Aldous Huxley.
For a novel written 88 years ago, it’s surprisingly prescient and relevant.
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28 Comments | tags: Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Idiocracy, Nineteen Eighty-Four, science fiction, science fiction books, SF, SF Books, soma, The Time Machine | posted in Books, Sci-Fi Saturday
Not long ago I wrote a post about not “liking” dinosaurs, and a crucial caveat there was that I also do not dislike dinosaurs — that I was essentially neutral on the subject of dinosaurs. To me they’re seriously old news. Not on my radar, as it were.
What certainly is — unavoidably — on my radar is modern technology, and in particular the ubiquitous touchscreen device and its myriad apps. After being subjected to an Apple iPad for over two years now, I’ve come to have a deep loathing for almost every aspect of the whole thing! And, because of my issues with it, I see no reason to ever own a “smart” phone (although I fear an eventual lack of choice in the matter).
Now be warned: this is me venting. I have very little positive to say here.
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10 Comments | tags: apps, Idiocracy, iPad, iPod, mobile devices, stupid, stupid people, stupid stupid stupid, stupidity, touchscreen | posted in Rant
This post’s well-known title could apply to my Minnesota Twins (who lost their 100th game yesterday), but even someone who’s been a close observer only six years knows better than to have great expectations of the team these days.
It might also apply to the pending NASA news conference about Europa. Many of us are hoping for something along the lines of a mysterious monolith and staying away, but rumor has it that the Hubble telescope spotted the long-absent water geysers. (They were observed years ago, but never since.) ((Update: The rumors were correct!))
But, while those are expectations, considering what’s taking over about a dozen TV networks tonight — what’s been long awaited by so many — the post’s title absolutely refers to the first Presidential debate.
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3 Comments | tags: Anyone But Trump, Clinton for President, Clinton-Trump debate, debate, democracy, Democratic Party, democratic society, Donald Trump, election 2016, emotional mind, George W. Bush, GOP, Hillary Clinton, HRC, Idiocracy, Jimmy Fallon, Michelle Obama, politicians, President Obama, Republican Party, social media, Trump is a loser, Trump is a monster | posted in Politics, Society
Well, ya, sure, you betcha! I just gotta say that I couldn’t be more pleased that my state, good old Minnesota, is the first one to show some good old-fashioned common sense! We’re the first one to say No! to the strange political circus that has everyone in thrall.
In his speech last night, Trump bragged that he’d won a bunch (it was just incredible; tremendous; America’s gonna be great again) and done no worse than second place otherwise.
Not so fast there, Donnie Boy! Feel the Bern from Minnesota!
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20 Comments | tags: Anyone But Trump, Bernie Sanders, democracy, Democratic Party, democratic society, Donald Trump, election 2016, GOP, Hillary Clinton, HRC, Idiocracy, Marco Rubio, Minnesota, politicians, Republican Party, Robert Frost, social change, social issues, The Road Not Taken, Trump is a loser, Trump is a monster | posted in Politics
Science fiction authors Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle collaborated on about a dozen SF novels, at least one of which is highly regarded as a classic in the genre (and an oft-named favorite). Ironically, that one — The Mote in God’s Eye — was the very first book the two of them wrote together.
Rereading it is a task I have queued for this summer (along with the sequel they wrote almost 20 years later: The Gripping Hand). But this past week or so my relaxation reading took me back to their second and third collaborations, the latter of which I just now finished.
Being that it’s Sci-Fi Saturday I thought I’d share those two with you (along with an entirely different series by an entirely different author).
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8 Comments | tags: Idiocracy, Inferno (novel), Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven, Oath of Fealty, omnivore, Piers Anthony, science fiction, The Gripping Hand, The Mote in God's Eye, Xanth | posted in Sci-Fi Saturday
In 2006 Mike Judge (Office Space, King of the Hill) wrote and directed a film called Idiocracy. It postulates a future 500 years hence when, due to “The Marching Morons” theory, the world is entirely populated by extremely stupid people. In this dystopian future, advertising and commercialism have run rampant in an anti-intellectual culture devoid of intellectual curiosity and thought.
As I watch what passes for communication or discussion on the interweb, as I watch in horrified fascination at the complete failure of nuanced — let alone deep — thought in people today, I begin to realize one thing:
The Idiocracy is here; I live in a world filled with morons.
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18 Comments | tags: Cyril M. Kornbluth, education, Idiocracy, idiots, ignorance, intelligence, interweb, Mike Judge, morons, stupid, stupid people, stupidity, The Marching Morons | posted in Rant
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