The First Decade of the Future Is Behind Us

Fun Discover article about how sci-fi life is now compared to even fifteen years ago. I admit that after having an iPhone for over three years, it still seems like a Star Trek gadget to me sometimes. (via)

the impossible cool.

The Impossible Cool

Living in the Future

As 2008 closes out, I realize more and more that we’re finally starting to live in the future you’ve seen imagined in sci-fi movies for the last 60 years. Let me count the ways:

• Without a doubt, the iPhone is the most futuristic device I’ve ever used. Apple nailed everything about the user experience to the degree that it doesn’t feel like an abstraction, it feels like you’re actually touching and manipulating your data.
• For a little over $100, you can get a Roomba, your own compact robot vacuum cleaner like they have on the Death Star.
• TiVo’s ability to let you pick programs from a menu rather than being tied to broadcast schedules is great. Devices like AppleTV and Netflix’s streaming initiative are moving in on the idea. Hopefully soon enough you’ll be able to sit down and pick out any movie to watch right then.
• Cars pretty much work now like they’ve worked for decades. You put in your keys, you turn the steering wheel, you use the pedals. GPS is now cheap enough that lots of people can own a car that knows where it is and tells them how to get where they want to go. Unfortunately in-dash units, which we really need to make our cars have that good sci-fi feel, are way too expensive.
• Barack Hussein Obama. Nothing says “it’s the future” like a black president.

Remembering Bettie Page, the '50s Fetish Fantasy Pin-up - washingtonpost.com

Remembering Bettie Page, the ’50s Fetish Fantasy Pin-up - washingtonpost.com

This is a bizarre article. Stephen Hunter directly admonishes readers for being into the fetish stuff Bettie Page was famous for (“What is wrong with you people?”) while somehow remarking on how important she was to the sexual revolution. Isn’t it a little late to be criticizing the fantasies of American men from the 50s? Did Hunter want to write a longer piece on exploitation and feminism of Page’s time but wasn’t given the word count?

Charlie Brooker responds to Simon Pegg's criticisms of running zombies

Charlie Brooker responds to Simon Pegg’s criticisms of running zombies

“Face facts. It’s time to embrace diversity, Simon. Make room in your heart for all breeds of zombie.” (Scroll down a little, or read the part about President-elect Obama.)

Simon Pegg on why the undead should never be allowed to run | Film | The Guardian

Simon Pegg on why the undead should never be allowed to run

War and Social Upheaval Cause Spikes in Zombie Movie Production

War and Social Upheaval Cause Spikes in Zombie Movie Production

I’d like to see a set of charts that correct for the number of movies released that year, or even the number of horror movies released per year. It’d also be interesting to know how the release of horror movies in general correlate to social trends. Torture Porn (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Saw) coincides well with Vietnam and Iraq, for example, times when Americans felt helpless in a violent world that traditional military solutions couldn’t solve.

The Terrible Crossover Fanfiction Idea Generator

The Terrible Crossover Fanfiction Idea Generator

“Your challenge is to write crossover fanfiction combining Teen Titans and Harry Potter. The story should use love triangles as a plot device!”

Study squashes myth of gamer as antisocial Comic Book Guy

Study squashes myth of gamer as antisocial Comic Book Guy

Now we just need a study quashing the “antisocial Comic Book Guy” myths and I’m home free!

A Coke is A Coke

I love this Andy Warhol quote that John Gruber uses in this Daring Fireball article:

What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.

I read an article recently (which I can’t seem to find now) about how class in America is becoming harder to define because their aren’t any key products that most people can’t afford. You used to be able to separate lower from middle class by whether or not a family had a telephone, or a TV, or air conditioning, etc. Even internet access and cell phones are becoming ubiquitous.

Comic Book Fans: Then And Now

Comic Book Fans: Then And Now

Umbrelletiquette

Umbrelletiquette

SFGate: Culture Blog! : In defense of those dudes who dress up like Stormtroopers

SFGate: Culture Blog! : In defense of those dudes who dress up like Stormtroopers

The skew on arts and culture from Inside 5th & Mission

Femtroopers - Featured on BuzzFeed

Femtroopers - Featured on BuzzFeed

Femtroopers: Hot girls who dress up like Storm Troopers…Pics: The Contoured Breast Plates are Especially Hot

Stuff White People Like

Stuff White People Like

The Seven Wonders of the Totalitarian World - Esquire

The Seven Wonders of the Totalitarian World - Esquire

A timeline of TV censorship - CNN.com

A timeline of TV censorship - CNN.com

Neat list, but why the lazy jump from 1979 to 2004? (via rfj)

The Hello Experiment

The Hello Experiment

How well could you sculpt Lionel Ritchie's head while blindfolded?

Charlie's Diary: Unpacking the Zeitgeist

Charlie’s Diary: Unpacking the Zeitgeist

Great stuff. How would you explain gold farming spamming in World of Warcraft to someone thirty years ago? Really does sound like a lame science fiction novel.

Viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace

Viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace