The future's not what it used to be...

"It was supposed to be like the Jetsons, it's not even like the Jeffersons"-Chris Rock, on the future.

You know, we're living in the future. Not literally, of course, but I was cursed by growing up loving science fiction, starting with "Star Trek" reruns, then the various "Planet of the Apes" and leading into the life changing event that is "Star Wars", which came out when I was 7. Cheesy (Buck Rogers) or not (Blade Runner), I was an sci-fi addict to a girl-alienating degree.

I often daydreamed of the "World of Tomorrow" and since so much of science fiction took place at the turn of the century, the year 2000 seemed to me like the official "future". Would we have interstellar travel, flying cars, and videophones? And would turtlenecks be as popular with future people as these movies and tv shows suggested?

Well, it's 2006, and the answers are no, no, not really, and well, we may never be free of the scourge of the turtleneck, but we are safe for now. The computerized music that dominated the 80's seemed futuristic at the time, but now seem quaint. And most of the Sci-fi I loved just looks silly. (I just saw Flash Gordon again recently and well, the prosecution rests) But we do have some cool shit.

We don't have personal androids, but I can post this blog or record a song from where I'm sitting and have it reach almost any computer connected to the internet anywhere in the world. And thanks to IMDB, wikipedia, and the urban dictionary, arguments can be settled at lightning speed.

No time travel, but I own a device smaller than a pack of gum that holds over 10 CDs worth of music for playback, and people make fun of how little storage it has.

Videophones are an idea that is honestly better on paper, like refrigerators with glass doors) but there are mobile phones that can take and send pictures and connect to the magical inter web.

I won't even get into on demand cable, google earth or youtube. We used to reach for the stars, but stars are far away. It's easier to reach for what's convenient. That's just human nature and I don't have the slightest problem with that.