The future was then

I needed something at the mall and hit my trusty iPod for a little travelin' music instead I got the in ride music to Epcot's old ride Horizons. I say old ride because it was demolished a few years ago. I let it play on. I remember going to Epcot with absolute glee( yes I can say glee) and wonder as a kid. The Lurker was always in love with technology. I remember thinking if there is a problem in this world some part of it can be alleviated through technology. I also remember a prevailing feeling not just in Epcot but everywhere when tech was talked about in the eighties. Everything was around the corner. The fifties talked about the future so far away and the eighties were any day now. Well it is 2009 and I am still waiting and I am both depressed and pissed. No I do not wonder where my hover car is but I do wonder where the horizon future went. They spoke about fast travel. It seems to be slower than ever and more expensive. They spoke about using the land to its potential and we still burn coal for our energy. The one thing Epcot never took into its future was the politics and power of money to block paths. I used to watch Beyond 2000 and hear about all this new stuff like washing machines that did not use soap. They used vibrations to push dirt out of the fabric but it was blocked by large companies who make the soap. It is fucking 2009 and as I walked around the mall it was hard to tell the difference between now and 1980. Yes we have cell phones and we have computers but what about the entire planet and culture. I thought we were speeding up but instead I believe we have almost slowed to a standstill. Oh we have the technology to solve most problems today but not the will.

I WANT MY DAMN FUTURE BACK!!!!

I want monorail travel, and proper farming that is both futuristic and good to the land. I remember even going on the rather lame but interesting The land ride where they showed you all the cool new ways of farming and using the land to its potential. ALL GONE. Where are the robots that walk the streets giving aid and help to others or at least picking up trash?

Where is my future?

As I watch the healthcare debate and everything else useful in politics get thrown aside for compromise and then eventually nothing I am starting to wonder maybe it is the right time to start a new political party. One made up of geeks. One that is actually forward thinking. The problem is that once even the geeks become elected they too will be pressured to fold. We need a political party that only elects those that don't want it. We need a party where after they have achieved the progress they bow out for another to take their place so it does not become static and lazy. Europe has its Pirate party why can't the geeks take the future back? I became a teacher to help others gain a leg into the ever so necessary world of technology. I want not just my future but theirs as well.

Sorry for the long rant. I just got started and it all poured out.

Here is a link to the soundtrack I was talking about. It is long and a bit dorky at times but try really hard to think of days when you first saw Tron or some other futuristic movie. Also here is a great commemorative website for Horizons.

Sigh.....

Let me know what you think.