Weird. I remember Tiannamen as following Berlin, too. Funny how memory tries to impose narrative order on history. What a whirlwind those years from 89 to 91 were. (Personally as well as internationally). Everything seemed possible, back then, well-earned and just within reach. And then it seemed to all go slightly sideways. But that's probably something of a mirage as well.
Weird. I remember Tiannamen as following Berlin, too. Funny how memory tries to impose narrative order on history. What a whirlwind those years from 89 to 91 were. (Personally as well as internationally). Everything seemed possible, back then, well-earned and just within reach. And then it seemed to all go slightly sideways. But that's probably something of a mirage as well.
Calvinism is an odd doctrine, but it and its philisophical kin did give us one of the most beautiful plays in the French Language, Jean Racine's Phaedre. It is possible to do everything right, follow all the moral rules of your time and still be destroyed, simply because you are "one of the just to whom grace has not been vouchsafed".
Huh. The more I think about it the comparison, the more I like it. Especially with some of the early Asimov robot stories. I need to think about this some more.
Following up on khadjair@70, I'd also add that a large part of the success Nero has is based on surprise, as well as luck. Destroying one of the Federation's rear squadrons (with green crews, to be sure) is impressive, but without total tactical surprise I think it would be very difficult to duplicate that feat without one or two ships escaping or pulling a Kelvin.
I think of it this way: with surprise, a minesweeper from 1950 could destroy the strongest battleship in the world from the Napoleonic era. If it were armed to the teeth, it could decimate a squadron. But it couldn't singlehandedly fight and win Trafalgar- an opposing fleet would simply scatter, spread the word, and the advantage would be quickly lost. One lightly-crewed ship wouldn't have the manpower to seize London or coup Paris, and if her captain tried to join forces with one side, that nation would be much more interested in dissecting the tech and duplicating the weapons than say, simply annihilating other countries. (Let's grant the minesweeper a few nuclear depth charges for argument's sake)
If Nero were captaining a warship, or leading a squadron, then I think the takeover scenario would have been much more likely. But I think it's precisely because he's more of a civilian turned pirate/guerilla/terrorist than a regular military man that he seizes on a plan which is simply intended to take as many federation lives with him as he can.
Caroline @41, Steve @100, Kate @109: Agreed.
The Onion issue commemorating 9/11 was magnificent, front to back. I can't recall anything remotely comparable in terms of a situation where a comedic institution rose so well to the challenge of a completely unfunny occasion that demanded a response nonetheless. And yes, here's hoping they won't need to again. (For several lifetimes, at least).
I hope, somehow, decades on, when the time comes to collect the best writing of the century, that some of those pieces get considered. That American flag cake deserves to be remembered. We were all Americans, for a short while.
miriam@50,
You have a comic book? Ah, I see you have a website. I shall have to peruse.
yes, in terms of the pitches, I think it was just unusually high with the presence of the film School. I think he always gets the contingent of stoner questions who think they're the next Jason Mewes. I threw him the question on Japan, which got a laugh. It's an odd dynamic, for sure. Collaborative, but it's his show in the end.
Good point, Ginger. On the other hand, there doesn't seem to be any reports of their local mayor ordering a census or massacre of babies, or any unusual local astronomical phenomena. There are definitely shepherds in the Lima area, however.
At the other extreme, some directors/writers do know their limitations. Kevin Smith, whatever his flaws, knows he's a dialogue-based director, and stays away from action flicks. (His explanation of why he backed out of The Green Hornet is on one of his "evening with" DVDs is a classic of the genre). My respect for Smith went up immensely when I saw him speak in Vancouver, and during the Q and A he was accosted by someone claiming to have the screenplay rights to Douglas Coupland's Generation X . Smith was polite, but blunt, and made it clear the answer was no. (And evidently not for the first time, either). It made me smile because Coupland's writing is almost entirely about visuals and imagery, while Smith is just not that kind of director. I'd like to think he actually knew enough about the source material to understand he'd be a terrible, terrible fit.
Probably not as bad as Frank Miller's Generation X would be, mind you, but at least Miller would be able to deal with the Nuclear imagery in an entertaining fashion.
In terms of engines, it's even possible that internal combustion might be fine: I saw Gwynne Dyer give a talk on his excellent new book Climate Wars on Sunday (which is well worth a read even if you know a fair bit about Global Warming, as he's using the newest data possible to make his arguments), and one technological possibility he mentions is new chemistry-based atmospheric scrubbers that can draw CO2 out of the atmosphere, which can then be combined with Hydrogen to make a carbon-neutral octane fuel. There are also biofuel possibilities such as Algae that aren't as much of a disaster as corn ethanol, too.
I don't know if it will pan out, but the point is it's a bit early to know what will be the best solution(s). All we know for sure is that something has to happen, or a combination of somethings, and fast, as we need to get our emissions down to zero by 2050 or so.
The book is great: Dyer's clear that the global warming situation is worse than is generally thought, but (on the bright side) also clear that governments and scientists the world over are much more aware of the problem and the consequences of failure than they let on in public. Just don't read it before bedtime or you won't be able to sleep....
Holy Cats! And now Stephen Harper's fate lies in the hands of the man who he hates and despises, Joe Clark? This really is like the final act of a Jacobean Revenge play...
You may be on to something, Kat. But when the champion of the anti-Iggy forces is Bob Rae, I'm just not sure he can pull it off.
That said, when Ed Broadbent of all people appears on TV as a kingmaker, perhaps anything is possible. The best Prime Minister we never had. I have no idea what a US analogy to that would be. A figure from the Ford or Carter era, maybe.
My favorite is the "tiger" theory. It came up on the Seattle sketch comedy program "Almost Live" years ago. The premise was a game show where contestants had to explain their JFK conspiracy theory, and the clearest explanation won.
The winning contestant is Bill Nye (yes, the science guy). After two other players run out of time trying to stammer through explanations involving the Cubans, Oswald, the Mafia, freemasons, and the CIA, Bill, on his turn, just looks at the host, says "a tiger got him", and wins the prize.
Wow, the thread has covered anything I might contribute already. Well done. Except this:
When my Theatre History course on melodrama covered the Uncle Tom's Cabin phenomenon, our Prof liked to make the point that it was easily the longest running, widely produced play in American history (running for decades), far eclipsing Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, which he had a special hate for. And so of course he spoiled the ending, so no one would ever have to see it.
So in that spirit, I feel obliged to tell you,
The detective did it.
I don't think Mr. Stross is wrong, either - even if Obama can't accomplish much beyond undoing damage, it was just really really important to the rest of the world that the US not be run by another cryptofascist lunatic, because there is important shit to do.
P.S. I loved Halting State and Singularity Sky.
I understand that at tonight's Canucks - Predators hockey game in Vancouver, when the election was called for Obama, the crowd of 18000+ went nuts and gave a standing ovation.
Thanks America. Welcome back. We're proud of you.
And you can still move to Canada if you want, of course. But we'd rather you did it for the right reasons.
Wll, y thnk tht y wll wrt t Tm Mgzn nd sk tht th cknwldg th mssn. t's nly fr.
I also want to wish you a speedy recovery, Teresa. And Patrick - you look after yourself too. I want to live in a world with the two of you in it for several decades yet.
Brown Aardvark from Dalmatia.
You know, maybe I do play Napoleonics too much...
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 7 |
| 2008 | 19 |
| 2007 | 6 |
| 2006 | 9 |
| 2003 | 17 |
Total: 58 comments. View all these comments on a single page.
The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by vancouverite:
Show all comments by vancouverite.