Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Stuff Heinlein Got Right


"Front!"

Anne appeared, dripping.

"Remind me," Jubal said to her, "to write a popular article on the compulsive reading of news. The theme will be that most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallowing in the troubles and sins of five billion strangers. The title is 'Gossip Unlimited'-no, make that 'Gossip Gone Wild.'"

"Boss, you're getting morbid."

"Not me. But everybody else is. See that I write it some time next week...

"Stranger In A Strange Land”, 1961


Behold, a Tip Jar!


5 comments:

Jason said...

Another reminder that despite the sheer magnitude of the corruption and socioeconomic and cultural psychoses of today, there's nothing new under the sun.

I remember reading the Epic of Gilgamesh years ago and story aside, I found all the interpersonal conflicts and power struggles to be exactly the same as today. That was a pretty depressing revelation.

Chris Bronson said...

Fnord!

Scurra said...

@Jason: there's a glorious Babylonian clay tablet in the British Museum that's ostensibly a list of cattle being sent to market, but it's got a note from the farmer to his apprentice which basically says "and watch out for XXX at the South Gate because he'll try to con you out of the correct valuation"...
Nope, six thousand years and nothing has changed. It's a marvel we've lasted this long really.

Robt said...

Not only have Sci Fy writers explored fiction of their times which seem to have come to pass.

Scary/ horror movies have some of their own omens from the past .

Freddy Krugar who continues to reappear and reap havoc and death,
(Santorum, Gingrich).

Texas Chain saw massacre, !, 2, 3, 4,---
Ted Cruz reelected, Rick Perry Now in charge of Nuclear regulatory authority at the Dept. of Energy.

Terminator; Hewitt sent destroy.

Alien, Trump becomes president.

Zombie Apocalypse (s); The republican base.


The Omen; Religious right worships the MAGA.

Friday the 13th; When the right wing white supremacist return to kill everyone. After Reagan releases them from the asylum.

Green Eagle said...

The most famous science fiction novel ever written? What about the Bible?