APPROACHING THE MILLENNIUM
I am sitting at my keyboard, trying to figure out what to write for the last Parapet of 1998. By the time you read this, it will be December, though I'm writing it on October 2. Had I not mentioned it, you would have never known. Such is the magic of writing.
At the end of this month (December, not October) the year will end and a new one will commence. 1999 is almost upon us and we are still no closer to having a colony on the moon. I'm disappointed. This disproves the whole premise behind the SF television series Space 1999. Even if an explosion did propel the moon out of the Earth's orbit, there'd be no one aboard to have any adventures. At least no one that we know of.
What the hell happened to space travel? I was watching Star Trek in the '70s and now here we are thirty years later. Why don't we have a space station in the asteroids? Where are the manned missions to Mars? Hasn't anyone in the space program read Bradbury?
That's the difference between fiction and reality. In fiction we can put a colony on the moon, because we don't need to fund it. All we need is enough money for ink. You write it, there it is. Reality is somewhat more complex.
In order to establish a colony on the moon, you first must allot a certain amount of money for the project. You have to pay scientists, engineers, construction companies, real estate agencies, factories and a whole plethora of other people. Make sure you set aside enough to bribe the politicians too, or they'll cut off your funding. Isn't reality fun?
The fact is, it doesn't look like we are going to be a space faring race any time soon. Not in the 1990s as was predicted in the original Star Trek. Not in 1999. Not, as Arthur C. Clark first predicted in 2001 or even, the way we're going, by the time of his sequel in 2010. Is it me, or did someone in the government spend a lot of time ignoring SF?
It's not as if it can't be done. It can absolutely be done. Apparently, there isn't a demand for it. There had been. When Neil Armstrong took his first step onto the moon, my parents let me stay up late to watch. The whole family sat around the television completely enthralled. That broadcast was the most watched news event in American history. It may have even had more viewers than the last episode of The Fugitive.
During the cold war, we had some motivation. Let's get up there before Russia does, otherwise we'll look bad. What a stupid motivation! And worse yet, we don't even have it anymore. What will it take for our fearless and wonderful leaders to see that we need to reach for the stars? Will I be alive to see it? Will it take another cold war?
It's not that the space program is completely idle, but rather the public is used to it. There's no longer any excitement. The pioneers have paved the way, and we're just following behind by automobile. It's a nice drive, beautiful scenery, but that's it. No excitement.
And why should there be? Because the new millennium is coming? Whose millennium?
If you're Jewish, the world is 5759 years old, which doesn't count as a millennium. Both the Chinese and Muslim calendars are also way past their millennium. Is it me? Does anyone else think that it isn't very efficient to start measuring time by the birth of a man that no two groups can agree on. Even the Roman Catholics and Greek Orthodox who both have similar views can't agree on when he was born. Consequently the Greek Orthodox Christmas comes about a week later than the Christmas that you find on calendars.
The millennium is an arbitrary number that is not accepted by every group of people in the world. In fact, it is completely meaningless, except when used as an advertising tool. I can't be the only one in the world who thinks that January 1, 2000 is no different from December 14, 1542 (except for being my 38th birthday)? It's a day, just like any other.
In fact, every bit of time that we've brought into existence is completely fictitious. Today is Friday. There's no such thing as Friday. If I were born today, in the middle of the Amazon jungle, I wouldn't know from Friday. The dry season would just be ending and the wet season would be about to begin. Unless El Nino screwed that up too.
Friday doesn't exist. We created it. We made up the month of December and we invented years (or at least our ancestors did). And for what purpose? So that the media can exploit the new millennium. So we can have a big party and everyone can get drunk and buy M&Ms (the official candy of the new millennium).
And when we wake up the next day, we'll all have to go back to work, but that's not what bothers me.
The worst of it is, we still won't have a colony on the moon.
Webpage & Graphics by Samandi Adams
Copyright (c) 2003-2004 ~ All Rights Reserved
APPROACHING THE MILLENNIUM
I am sitting at my keyboard, trying to figure out what to write for the last Parapet of 1998. By the time you read this, it will be December, though I'm writing it on October 2. Had I not mentioned it, you would have never known. Such is the magic of writing.
At the end of this month (December, not October) the year will end and a new one will commence. 1999 is almost upon us and we are still no closer to having a colony on the moon. I'm disappointed. This disproves the whole premise behind the SF television series Space 1999. Even if an explosion did propel the moon out of the Earth's orbit, there'd be no one aboard to have any adventures. At least no one that we know of.
What the hell happened to space travel? I was watching Star Trek in the '70s and now here we are thirty years later. Why don't we have a space station in the asteroids? Where are the manned missions to Mars? Hasn't anyone in the space program read Bradbury?
That's the difference between fiction and reality. In fiction we can put a colony on the moon, because we don't need to fund it. All we need is enough money for ink. You write it, there it is. Reality is somewhat more complex.
In order to establish a colony on the moon, you first must allot a certain amount of money for the project. You have to pay scientists, engineers, construction companies, real estate agencies, factories and a whole plethora of other people. Make sure you set aside enough to bribe the politicians too, or they'll cut off your funding. Isn't reality fun?
The fact is, it doesn't look like we are going to be a space faring race any time soon. Not in the 1990s as was predicted in the original Star Trek. Not in 1999. Not, as Arthur C. Clark first predicted in 2001 or even, the way we're going, by the time of his sequel in 2010. Is it me, or did someone in the government spend a lot of time ignoring SF?
It's not as if it can't be done. It can absolutely be done. Apparently, there isn't a demand for it. There had been. When Neil Armstrong took his first step onto the moon, my parents let me stay up late to watch. The whole family sat around the television completely enthralled. That broadcast was the most watched news event in American history. It may have even had more viewers than the last episode of The Fugitive.
During the cold war, we had some motivation. Let's get up there before Russia does, otherwise we'll look bad. What a stupid motivation! And worse yet, we don't even have it anymore. What will it take for our fearless and wonderful leaders to see that we need to reach for the stars? Will I be alive to see it? Will it take another cold war?
It's not that the space program is completely idle, but rather the public is used to it. There's no longer any excitement. The pioneers have paved the way, and we're just following behind by automobile. It's a nice drive, beautiful scenery, but that's it. No excitement.
And why should there be? Because the new millennium is coming? Whose millennium?
If you're Jewish, the world is 5759 years old, which doesn't count as a millennium. Both the Chinese and Muslim calendars are also way past their millennium. Is it me? Does anyone else think that it isn't very efficient to start measuring time by the birth of a man that no two groups can agree on. Even the Roman Catholics and Greek Orthodox who both have similar views can't agree on when he was born. Consequently the Greek Orthodox Christmas comes about a week later than the Christmas that you find on calendars.
The millennium is an arbitrary number that is not accepted by every group of people in the world. In fact, it is completely meaningless, except when used as an advertising tool. I can't be the only one in the world who thinks that January 1, 2000 is no different from December 14, 1542 (except for being my 38th birthday)? It's a day, just like any other.
In fact, every bit of time that we've brought into existence is completely fictitious. Today is Friday. There's no such thing as Friday. If I were born today, in the middle of the Amazon jungle, I wouldn't know from Friday. The dry season would just be ending and the wet season would be about to begin. Unless El Nino screwed that up too.
Friday doesn't exist. We created it. We made up the month of December and we invented years (or at least our ancestors did). And for what purpose? So that the media can exploit the new millennium. So we can have a big party and everyone can get drunk and buy M&Ms (the official candy of the new millennium).
And when we wake up the next day, we'll all have to go back to work, but that's not what bothers me.
The worst of it is, we still won't have a colony on the moon.
Webpage & Graphics by Samandi Adams
Copyright (c) 2003-2004 ~ All Rights Reserved