Notes from the Author: Thoughts on government.

Greetings fellow readers. Thanks for being here. I’ve been discussing my opinions about the future of humanity. I base my assumptions on my readings of other futurists and other science fiction authors, notably Clark, Herbert and Asimov.

Today I’ll discuss my view on the future of economics and governance but first . . . let me say this to my conservative friends: I am not picking on you. I am not conservative but I do respect my friends who believe in conservative issues. I just see a future where the conservative / liberal argument is fairly moot.

One of the things I enjoy about science fiction is the possibility of exploring different paradigms. We can try a new kind of communism or fascism without actually having to live under them.

We simply can’t go on the way we have been. Capitalism has been the paradigm just over two centuries and it’s mucked up the world pretty bad. Certainly capitalism is not the only culprit here but it is in my opinion the main obstacle to a better life for most humans.

You can argue that capitalism is certainly better than the feudalism that came before. I don’t dispute that. What I dispute is that capitalism is the end all of social construction, but rather a cog in the greater machine.

I hear a lot of capitalists arguing on TV how much better than socialism their system is. However, they seem to be arguing against communism instead, which is not the opposite of capitalism. Most of the pundits on TV ignore the fact that the opposite of communism is fascism. If there was a liberal media would they compare fascism with socialism? If they did socialism would look much better to most people.

The facts of the matter are that capitalism did nothing for the common man until socialism ( labor unions ) forced them to care for their workers.

We as a people need to break the strangle hold capitalists have on our society. Their interest is not to better society but to enrich themselves and their shareholders at the expense of everyone else.

I’m not suggesting we replace capitalism with socialism. What I am suggesting is that we need both systems to more forward and a strong regulatory government to insure fairness.

In general I argue that services (education, police, fire, healthcare, national defense) are better provided by socialism and goods are better provided by capitalism.

Even these simple ideas may soon be out the window if we can bring in a new paradigm.

The American government is more conservative than the American people. This is in part because we have a conservatively controlled media. Our media does not report on issues important to liberals. The media and our government increasingly do not represent the views of the American people.

America can produce prodigious “bread and circus”. We can entertain our people so well that they will for a time ignore the problems facing them. Problems that there is no need for them to face. The idea that America can not provide for our poor and needy is simply absurd. The idea that we can not maintain our infrastructure with our taxing the poor more than we do is just wrong.

The corporate interests that are running the American economy into the ditch are very well funded and entrenched. How do we break their stranglehold on our society? They have shown a propensity to throw temper tantrums and a willingness to take a financial hit to make a point that they didn’t like what the people did. 

Historically, violent revolution has been the only answer to this kind of situation. I am hopeful that American democracy is strong enough to bring about change without having to resort to this. There are movements starting around the country with the hope to affect change for the better.

Tomorrow I’ll discuss more long term issues. We’ll go further into the future.

Earth Year 2013

Never mix red wine with Oodo. 

Notes from the Author: Future Entertainments

Greetings valiant readers. Thanks for being here. Today we continue our futurist essays with my hits on future entertainments.

Entertainment

Last week we discussed how computers and electronic entertainment will change. Technologies will integrate these things into our daily living more so than they do now. We also will not own media as much. We’ll just get things on line.

. . . but what will we watch? What will we listen to?

I’m not even going to try to predict the tastes of coming generations. I have always been on the fringe when it comes to my tasts in entertainment. I have a hard time accepting anything that seems overly popular. So I am not the person to tell you what popular culture will do, today or tomorrow.

I think any author who tries to do this is just trying to boost their own ego. How many times have we heard some new artist described as the “Next Elvis” or the “Next Beatles”? We usually hear these kinds of statements from people who are looking back more than looking forward. I admit that I like to look back when it comes to music, so I won’t try to predict the ebbs and flows of cultural taste.

I will tell you that I believe (and hope) that musicians and other entertainers are given the freedom to explore their medium without the constrictions of the market place.

I seems obvious that Capitalism cannot survive much longer without a major overhaul. Capitalist societies rarely produce much lasting art. Rock and Roll being one exception. However even a cursory examination of the history of Rock and Roll shows that it has been on a downhill slide ever since the “Bean Counters” took over the Biz. 

Assuming we eventually break the yoke of the “Free Market” I see the potential for another Renaissance in the near future. If we don’t break the strangle hold of the Capitalists we’ll see more and more pablum.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about the future of Economics and Governance. 

Earth Year 2013

Never mix red wine with Oodo.

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Toys on Kusha

Greetings sweet readers. Thanks for being here. What do the kids of Kusha do for fun? Of course the game glasses are popular. The player stands on a flat disk and wears the glasses. Then they can play a variety of games from snowball to football to racing and flying games. Adventure games are popular. I understand there is one that recreates Max’s journey through the jungle when she discovered the Fordian Pyramid. It even has the event when she fell into the Mother’s Pool which was called the Toilet Bowl back then. You can read the full story in the upcoming historic novel “Kusha”.

A lot of the kids are into the new Crestori fabrics. They can be set to almost any color and some of them can display moving images. I’ve seen kids set them up to display what ever background they find themselves in so that they blend in. Other kids like to be more showy and will set their clothes to display some popular movie or musical group. My grandson Tommi likes to wear the Toxik Idols playing one of their hits from the twenty-first century.

I have one of the sweaters. I got it for the Winterfest last year. I’ve worn it a few times. Usually one of the grandkids will pick out a theme for me. I like the forest scene but the kids like the space battle scene. Personally, I find that distracting to wear. Who wants exploding spaceships scrolling across your chest while you are trying to enjoy a cool one?

Well, I’ll certainly be enjoying a “cool one” tomorrow as we celebrate the harvest. The kids will be playing football . . . I’ll be watching. I’m too old to play anymore. At least that’s what my wife tells me.

We brought the harvest fest from Harappa. It is one of the four festivals of the year. My favorite is the Winterfest. Of course you all remember my participation in the best Winterfest ever. Maybe for this Winterfest I’ll repost the telling of when Dorian and I won the great slide race of two-hundred.

In the mean time have a great holiday.

Never Mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 87

Earth Year 2479

Note from the author; I hope you all have a great holiday weekend. I’ll be taking a few days off myself but will return next monday with Philip the Bard and a continuation of my futurist series.

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Life on Kusha

Greetings famous readers. Thanks for being here. Last week and yesterday we spent discussing the planet Kusha and it’s environment. Today we’ll start talking about what kinds of technologies are available here on Kusha.

Of course the SID still has people here and they all have their own technologies. Most SID employees have the optical implants. Apparently it is a requirement for promotion. At some point in every SID person’s career they must accept one. Some folks like to wear the eye glasses that kind of do the same thing, let you see a display for life, but at least the glasses you can take off. Once the implants are in they are there and on all the time. Management can look in on what ever you are seeing day or night. Supposedly there are provision for limiting access to private time but there have been many scandals where government operators were looking in on personal moments.

Most of what we have here on Kusha is of alien design. We cut ties with the SID early on in the Galactic War and never really became involved with them afterwards. We still get occasional visits and they do have an office in Harappa City with about a dozen employees.

I have a pair of the glasses but I rarely go out with it. I prefer to have a tablet. I like holding something in my hands to read or view. I find the ocular displays distracting and think they give me a headache. My wife Ina says that is all just in my head and that there is nothing in the glasses that could give me such symptoms. She likes the things and is always reading with hers while she does house work. I prefer to prop up my tab by the sink when I do dishes.

I may not be the best person to talk up the latest gadgets. I don’t use many of them but the kids do and I know what they like. (isn’t it Grandpa who winds up getting these things for the kids after all?)

So, starting tomorrow, I’ll tell you what gadgets the kids are into in Earth Year 2479. That is the kids on Kusha. I don’t know much of what is going on on Lava and Earth has taken a different path haven’t they?

Never Mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 87

Earth Year 2479

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: The Kushan Ring System

Greetings fantastic readers. Thanks for being here. I’m still recovering from the weekend. Me and the Gutterminds spent Saturday night at the Bird and Hand Pub playing our best Toxik Idols and Stones. I spent most of yesterday watching the kids play football. Its not as much fun as snowball but since we have so little snow on Kusha it’ll have to do.

Over the past several post I’ve been telling you a few things about Kusha that you might not know. Before I start discussing some of the technology available here I thought I’d better mention one of Kusha’s most interesting feature. “Ring D”

Who doesn’t know that Kusha has a spectacular ring system? It is one of the planet’s most striking features. But not everyone knows that Ring D is a double helix.

The double helix is one of the most important shapes in the universe. DNA is a double helix and without the ubiquitous DNA we would not have life.

One of the big things we learned when we were first exposed to the Encyclopedia Galactica was that DNA molecules naturally form in magnetic fields where gravity has little or no impact. For centuries humans believed that the creation of life required divine intervention.

Now we know that DNA exists all over the Galaxy and anywhere it’s given a place with oxygen and water it will grow into something called life.

Astronomers figure that ring D formed a double helix in Kusha’s heavy magnetic field. It is speculated that some object hit some stones in the ring sending them into a spiral and they twisted the formation over the eons. It can’t be seen from the surface but I’ve seen several photographs of it in Kushan homes.

Never Mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 87

Earth Year 2479

Notes from Bubba's Desk: Computers and Electronics of the Future

Greetings fetching readers. Thanks for being here. Yesterday I railed at all the negatives I see coming from modern technology. Today we’ll get more upbeat and talk about the good things I see coming.

Today I’ll focus on computers and electronic entertainment. In coming posts I’ll make my predictions on Health Care and Aging, LIfe-style, Robotics, and more.

Computers and Electronic Entertainment

We’ve all witnessed the huge advances in electronics and computing. How much further can we go? Futurists of the past did not see the internet coming. We, most likely, don’t yet grasp what the next paradigm changing technology will be. I can only extrapolate from what I’ve seen but the one thing I can guarantee about my and all other predictions for our future is that we will all, most likely, not see the “next big thing” till it gets here.

I Worked in the electronic biz many years ago when VCR’s were still the new thing. The industry at the time had future advances lined up years ahead. They had all the technology but they doled it out one step, one year at a time. From this I assume that what we are seeing in the new computer/pad hybrids is just the beginning of computers with new configurations. I’m hoping my laptop will last another two years so I can see how this shakes out.

The near future will bring all kinds of new and different computers. We’ll be seeing more projected keyboards and menus. Computers that look like writing pens. Computers in our clothes.

I’ve recently heard several people, semi jokingly, complain that we never got the flying cars we were promised in the fifties. Well, I’m kinda glad some of the people I have to share the road with don’t have the capacity to fly, but I do look forward to my “Dick Tracy Wrist Radio”.

We’re seeing the latest smart phones come in wrist models and google glass is just around the corner. These devices are becoming more and more integrated with our life styles. Soon we’ll see clothing with connection capabilities. The google glass is a start. At some point they may go internal.

In my sci fi series I have a technology whereby people have “ocular implants” that allow them to record everything they see and allows them to watch media that no one else can see. They can surf the web with menus they see in front of them that, again, can not be seen by any body else. I also mention that most people choose not to have them unless they are required by their employer. Who wants their boss (or the government) to have access to everything they’ve seen or heard?

I still have a huge vinyl collection. Who among us hasn’t bought into some technology that left us with an unplayable library of classics? (who remembers four tracks?) I envision that someday very soon most of us will consider absurd the notion of paying to own a hard copy of some movie or piece of music when it is available 24/7 on-line or in some other format.

I see video gaming becoming a much bigger slice of our entertainment pie. As the games become more immersive (and if you haven’t tried them recently you will be surprised at just how immersive they are) people will find them more appealing than watching movies. Why watch when you can do?

I see the future being very fun and entertaining, assuming we don’t destroy ourselves first.

Have a great weekend! Philip the Bard will be back next Monday through Wednesday and this Thursday and Friday I’ll post more of my futurist essays.

Earth Year 2013

Never mix red wine with Oodo.

Notes from Bubba's Desk: First of my Futurist Essays

Greetings brave readers. Thanks for being here. Today I’m going to begin discussing my thoughts on the technology of the future. As a sci-fi writer I try to read as much as I have time for about what futurists believe is waiting for us in the coming decades and centuries.

Sadly not all of you have read my book yet (get with the program, it’s a fun read!) so I will tell you it takes place about four hundred years in the future. In the interim there was a period of natural disasters and environmental collapse which moved technology back some.

In my future we’ve see a backlash against technology. I am certainly not the only sci-fi writer to have used this meme. Frank Herbert uses it as a significant plot point in his Dune novels.

I’m not a huge fan of many modern conveniences. I use the internet (we’re all here aren’t we?), I have a big-screen TV, DVR, ipad, laptop . . . I don’t always like these things but I use them. I don’t have the internet at my house. Not necessarily by choice but since the phone company (who shall not be named) lied to us when we were looking at the house only to say later “No, you can’t have the net.” I find that I do enjoy being away from the connection. I have more free time now that I am not looking up the history of every director who’s movie I watch.

I tell you this so that you know why I have included in my futuristic novels the concept that people will eventually get bored with toys and get back to relating more and more to people directly. I have a deep hope that this happens. I believe it is essential for the continued growth of society.

I’ve heard from several people recently the idea that they just don’t like people in general. (???) What is wrong here? Sure, there are knuckleheads out there but where would we be without people? It is our human connections that give life true meaning, not our collection of toys. I see technology getting in between human relations and I think that is wrong.

It is my fear that people will continue to buy what TV is selling them. They will become more and more reclusive and disconnected. That will make it much easier for someone to control society from the top rather than the people actually having a real say in the way things work.

So, I am pushing, lobbying, crying for people to spend more time together and away from their “things”.

OK. That’s off my chest. I am an optimist. I see a bright future for humanity and our little world. I see some fun and interesting technologies coming our way. “My future is so bright I have to wear shades.”

Starting with tomorrow’s post I will begin my predictions for what technologies we will experience in the near and distant future.

Earth Year 2013

Never mix red wine with Oodo.