Happy 2018 to all our RISFC members, their families, and friends!
I don't make New Year resolutions, because I know myself well enough, that I won't keep them. I try instead to make the most of every day. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, but it's the journey, not the destination that counts in my book.
I write this the day after my birthday. I am now 59, the last time I travel around the Sun in my 50's. When I was a kid, I thought that anyone age 60 and older was, well, old, so here I am, on the precipice of just that occasion. But that's a whole year from now, and this Padawan has a lot to do before that celebration. A year from now I'll be saying 70 is old, just wait.
I've been thinking a lot about Nerd Culture, how it's evolved for good or ill over the last 40 years. In the 1970's, Sci Fi was just starting to emerge within the general public. As a teen in those times, we had re-runs of Star Trek, and tons of great books, but that was about it. Then Star Wars showed up in 77, and the genre exploded. Star Wars led to a Star Trek movie, followed by hits like Alien, Close Encounters of the Third Kind,, and Blade Runner. In the 80's & 90's all the Trek series started, along with syndicated shows like Babylon 5, Andromeda, and one of my favorites, Cleopatra 2525. Shlocky but fun, and yes, I have the entire one season on dvd.
Comic book movies have now entered the fray, with Marvel on top, and DC dominates the TV networks. Thanks to Millennials who grew up with all this great SF as part of ancient history, we can now say, without a doubt, that Nerds rule (though the man-buns have GOT to go away. I mean, now). If there's any downside, it's that marketing, especially with Star Wars, has reached obscene proportions, and SF fans have to tread through tons of junk to find the pearls, with the understanding that years from now, all the stuff you've collected will not send your kid to college, because everyone else has it too. Some conventions have taken the fun out of SF conventions, choosing profit over quality.
So 2018, once again, will be Nerd-tastic with tons of movies, TV shows, great books, and more! Enjoy yourself, but don't over indulge, and have as awesome year!
Marc
I don't make New Year resolutions, because I know myself well enough, that I won't keep them. I try instead to make the most of every day. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, but it's the journey, not the destination that counts in my book.
I write this the day after my birthday. I am now 59, the last time I travel around the Sun in my 50's. When I was a kid, I thought that anyone age 60 and older was, well, old, so here I am, on the precipice of just that occasion. But that's a whole year from now, and this Padawan has a lot to do before that celebration. A year from now I'll be saying 70 is old, just wait.
I've been thinking a lot about Nerd Culture, how it's evolved for good or ill over the last 40 years. In the 1970's, Sci Fi was just starting to emerge within the general public. As a teen in those times, we had re-runs of Star Trek, and tons of great books, but that was about it. Then Star Wars showed up in 77, and the genre exploded. Star Wars led to a Star Trek movie, followed by hits like Alien, Close Encounters of the Third Kind,, and Blade Runner. In the 80's & 90's all the Trek series started, along with syndicated shows like Babylon 5, Andromeda, and one of my favorites, Cleopatra 2525. Shlocky but fun, and yes, I have the entire one season on dvd.
Comic book movies have now entered the fray, with Marvel on top, and DC dominates the TV networks. Thanks to Millennials who grew up with all this great SF as part of ancient history, we can now say, without a doubt, that Nerds rule (though the man-buns have GOT to go away. I mean, now). If there's any downside, it's that marketing, especially with Star Wars, has reached obscene proportions, and SF fans have to tread through tons of junk to find the pearls, with the understanding that years from now, all the stuff you've collected will not send your kid to college, because everyone else has it too. Some conventions have taken the fun out of SF conventions, choosing profit over quality.
So 2018, once again, will be Nerd-tastic with tons of movies, TV shows, great books, and more! Enjoy yourself, but don't over indulge, and have as awesome year!
Marc
