Mini Mag 98
Polly Ticks says … Piecing snippets of news together to discover a wider picture is the role of the commentator. It can disclose hidden agendas. So what are we to make of the suggestion of beating Somali pirates on land, coupled with the UK leading dash for oil in Somalia? Watch that space.
My Warfare page
Pappa Razzi says … It was obvious Murdoch would resurrect a Sunday paper to replace disgraced News of the World, and he has. But as media inquiry is told of ‘culture of illegal payments’ to officials, his son, James, is forced to resign. Live by scandal, die by scandal.
My Media page
FUTURE ZONE
SATURATE: Sci Fi geeks can be obsessive.
There are two, sat, greying, old,
saturating themselves with DVD boxsets.
They were only 18 when they began.
***
Underground they live
Air choked, land scorched – disagreed
Remnants of our Ego
ESSAY: HI-TECH - Hi-tech often seems to come from realms of science fiction. But a question: does tech need to be so advanced, or in some areas would we be better off with lower tech? Technology used to be devised to fill a need for it in society. Now tech has need for society. The balance has turned.
My Technology page
Blogger Bard says:
Not all nature good
Human nature hurts nature
Soon nature hurts us
***
FROM UNDER: It comes from underground.
Intelligently slicing through earth,
reaching sun, branching out. Nukes had
caused mutation, nature thriving. And
the trees entwined man.
***
A Nightmare:
Accelerate growth
Efficiency means no waste
And what use, childhood?
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80 Comments » Blog, Mini Mag: Sci Fi, News: Media, News: World Affairs
Major de Ranger says … Iran is said to be the centre of a new Cold War as nuclear fears rise once more. This is almost certainly true, but not ‘cos of the Iranians. Any danger of it getting hot and Russia and the West will be back to the bad old days.
ESSAY: GOOD - If everyone was good, would life be good? Well, we’d all have to think the same on what good is, so differentness would disappear. And if there was no bad, how would we know what good is? Similarly, with no bad, would we get frustrated enough to better things? Good is maybe not so good.
Dr Illya Ness says … There is a revolt in the Tory Party against the health service reforms. Is the govt beginning to care? No. They fear they could harm chances of re-election.
Guru Tony says … Poor diet kills 2.6 million infants a year worldwide. Did the 3rd World have such problems before western interference, or did their society cope? Beware. Globalisation kills.
ESSAY: FRAUD - Don’t you just hate it – being told things that aren’t true. And if the lie goes on, and you’re conned? Well, fraud just isn’t nice, is it? And confidence tricksters are the scum of the earth. So please forgive me as you read this essay. That’s fiction writing for you. Fraud for the law abiding.
ESSAY: E-BOOKS - Horror in publishing. They’ve lost the e-book plot. Maybe because e-publishing doesn’t need them now. Will it be a wake up call that they’re going stale? Meanwhile e-books have become the new proving ground which will hopefully rejuvenate literature. Reminds me of the printing press, which fuelled the Renaissance. A new one on the way?
ESSAY: DYSTOPIA - Dystopia – the idea of a controlled State – is a major Sci Fi theme, echoing fears of the future. But is it still Sci Fi? Computers have many advantages, but also flaws. They create rigidity in administrations and society becomes machine-like in response. Deviation and choice lessen and control grows. We may be already there.
Techie Without A Clue says … Good old Facebook & Twitter. As soon as you get used to something, they change. What happened to the old adage: if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
ESSAY: CONFIDENCE - I’ve got a problem with confidence. I see it all around me – or, at least, I used to. But if you challenge a man on his confidence, reactions get emotional. As I see it, confidence is a mask to hide the true person. Indeed, show me a truly confident man and I’ll out the wreck.
Polly Ticks says … Mass credit downgrading in Eurozone countries, ‘cos leaders are not doing enough. Good example of who rules – politicians or business.
Dr Illya Ness says … Charities speak of ‘neurology timebomb’ as Parkinson’s, MS and motor neurone increase, but what surveys are being made into the modern life causing it?
Pappa Razzi says … Wikipedia blacked out last week in protest at copyright legislation. I’m all for guarding copyright, but not sneak attacks on freedom.
ESSAY: BLACKMAIL - Blackmail is the vile attempt to gain something from another by threat of disclosing a secret. Yet blackmail could be on the way out. It relies on society having a strong moral ethic, so as morality declines, so does the possibility of disgrace. Who’d have thought that immorality could be a means of fighting crime.
ESSAY: APOCALYPSE - Armageddon is a Latinized word for the Hebrew, Megiddo, site of an early battle. Nothing more. Apocalypse actually means ‘prophetic disclosure’, or Revelation. If you take symbolism out of THAT book you have a blueprint for political revolution, as in French or Russian Revolutions. That’s all. Let’s not blow Apocalypse up out of all proportion.
Prof Isaac Galistein says … Report says UK could only stand a week of disruption after major disaster before society collapses. ‘Just-in-time’ business & globalisation blamed. Such a fragile world we’ve created for ourselves.
ZOO: No one knew who began it, but taking species from different epochs and creating a time zoo was novel. No one knew who captured the dinosaurs, or humans, or androids, or interplanetary species. No one knew whether it existed in the past, present or future. Indeed, no one knew whether they were visitors or exhibits.
YOU: I looked in the mirror and it was you. This was no good as I was sure I’m me, but you just wouldn’t go away no matter how many times I blinked. If only I could be me, and not a reflection of who you think I should be. But that’s the thing about parents.
