Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure how you could have a unifying vision for something as broad and diverse as "the future," or "the good parts of the future," without projecting it down into a simplistic, synthesized work of very fictional storytelling where all resemblance to reality (and consequently all authority) has been sacrificed in favor of comprehensibility and persuasiveness. In other words, the clearest route to getting people…
Have you ever seen the photos from Expo 1937 in Paris? Or read about it? The organizers put the USSR and Nazi Germany directly across from each other... talk about "unifying vision" ... https://www.messynessychic.com/2016/09/21/when-paris-invited...
It's time to build: a New World's Fair
161–170 of 237 posts
Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair
#162The last really prophetic world's fair was New York, 1939. That's famous for GM's vision of the future of 1960, the original "Futurerama" . Freeways everywhere. RCA had television. AT&T let you make free long distance calls. All that stuff happened. The 1964 World's Fair had another GM exhibit. Colonization of the Moon. Underwater cities. None of that happened. What could we have in a World's Fair now that looks ahea…
I want a roboticized home that cleans itself, that is able to do autorepairs, rooms reconfiguration. I want an auto-laundry and an auto-kitchen. I want it smart enough to manage air flow, temperature and humidity efficiently. I want all that to be voice activated. Please make it offline to not depend on some cloud thingies.
I want a powerwall and solar panels, I want an automated herbs garden. I want things to be upgradable and fixable without destroying walls.
If you give me room on the exhibit, I'll throw in an automated greenhouse to produce a lot of the food and maybe an automated workshop that would be able to produce/repair small items.
That's doable, that's not here yet, but we have most of the tech.
The next frontier is not space, it is automation. I would go to a World's Fair that showed a future where we would have less work to do.
Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's abnormal behaviour. There's no reason to hang your country's flag in front of your house. I mean... maybe if you live near the Canadian or Mexican border and are feeling particularly patriotic or insecure. > I’ve seen people from all over the world wear or display their own country’s flags. You may have imagined it. If not, could you say where? It is a uniquely American thing. I mean, Indians will pull out a fla…
Germany. Southern Germany specifically. Lots of people even have Bavarian or German flag stickers on their cars. Lot’s of flags in Italy including regional flags like Siena which has 17 different flags corresponding to the parts of the city. Lots Italian and Vatican flags in Rome. I’ve met a Costa Rican tourist in Europe who had a flag hat, shirt, backpack, and a small flag in hand.
> I’ve met a Costa Rican tourist in Europe who had a flag hat, shirt, backpack, and a small flag in hand.
That's very common with tourists, and it makes sense... you're travelling through other countries, representing your own. Same with carrying a flag in a protest or at an international sports event.
That's very different to putting up a flagpole in front of your house to fly a national flag.
Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair
#164The 1963-64 world's fair shaped my entire life. My earliest clear memories were from that fair, and ever since I've been fascinated by "futurism", technology, computers, space, architecture, etc. Every school and career choice I've made was based on some inspirational spark that hit me there.
I'm a little younger, and Tomorrowland at Disney was that for me.
Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
Speak for yourself. Los Angeles ran a profitable Olympics in 1984 and we look forward to doing so again in 2028. And nationalism is at a low ebb here, given our last four years fighting His Nibs on everything. It’s all about competition and entertainment for us. And infrastructure that can be reused for more entertainment.
The 1984 Olympics, considered to be the most financially successful Olympics ever, were ran on the basis of renovating existing infrastructure, not building new stuff in a new city because the previous two Olympics were financial disasters. Also, yes, if you mess up LA the United States will still truck on. Also Nationalism isn't just flags, hate and hands in the air, it's also an outward expression of ideas and idea…
As with...all...of its Olympic bids, LA was not the first choice for the 1984 Olympics. It basically got those Olympics (and 2028, and the 1932 Olympics), because nobody else wanted to host them. In 1932, the world was in the throes of the Great Depression; in 1984, the previous Olympics had bankrupted their hosts; for 2028, hosts of the 20xx games exuberantly built new facilities only to see them wither into decay from non-use (Brazil, China, even London).
Thus, LA's bids have always focused on fiscally responsible games. As with the previous 2 iterations of the LA Games, LA will not be building many new facilities solely for the games. Indeed, currently, LA plans to build no new facilities for the games, though there will be temporary structures/courses built for the swimming events, the BMX and MTB racing events, and NBC will be paying for a temporary media center. Currently, all $7 billion of the estimated costs are being funded by the private sector.
Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair
#166The last really prophetic world's fair was New York, 1939. That's famous for GM's vision of the future of 1960, the original "Futurerama" . Freeways everywhere. RCA had television. AT&T let you make free long distance calls. All that stuff happened. The 1964 World's Fair had another GM exhibit. Colonization of the Moon. Underwater cities. None of that happened. What could we have in a World's Fair now that looks ahea…
Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair
#167Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair
#168Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is that sarcasm? American nationalism and over-the-top expressions of patriotic pride border on the jingoistic.
This thread is a perfect microcosm of the american psyche - two extremes that only see the other side's extremism. There is little measured, nuanced opinion to be had. Both extreme jingoistic nationalism, and shame for any nationalism at all are unhealthy.
Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair
#169Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is that sarcasm? American nationalism and over-the-top expressions of patriotic pride border on the jingoistic.
This thread is a perfect microcosm of the american psyche - two extremes that only see the other side's extremism. There is little measured, nuanced opinion to be had. Both extreme jingoistic nationalism, and shame for any nationalism at all are unhealthy.
Re: It's time to build: a New World's Fair
#170Earlier quoted context omitted.
Should everyone wait until their kids turn 18 to start teaching them their own morals and values? You’d just be auctioning their brain to random others who are willing to do that. I think we either have very different concepts of what indoctrination is, or there is much more beyond the pledge itself, and that is where the real issues are?
> Should everyone wait until their kids turn 18 to start teaching them their own morals and values? You keep saying morals and values. Which part of the pledge pertains to morals and values? It was still said during a time of complete racial segregation. Did the practically unchanged pledge teach children about the morality and values of that? Or domestic internment camps during WW2? What about during the Vietnam war…
Pledging allegiance to the things that protect and serve you. Support for something larger than yourself. The American ideals in the constitution and on the statue of liberty, even if you don't feel others support them as much as they should.
The USA is a tremendous country that has done more to build protections for people into its law than almost anywhere else. You should see this and support it even if there are problems. America pledges equality and it's actually available. There's a reason the entirely of South America would move to the USA today, and it's a flattering reason if you'd look at it.
> It was still said during a time of complete racial segregation.
No, that never happened. Even during slavery, only some states practiced it and it was distasteful elsewhere, and even in those states it wasn't universal. Small help to a slave, sure, but your representation isn't fair.
> Did the practically unchanged pledge teach children about the morality and values of that?
Of the country that fought a hard war to end slavery, and is trying for equality? I dunno, you don't seem to have heard that message.
> Or domestic internment camps during WW2?
Meh, war is tough. When you're shooting some people it seems less bad to merely imprison some. Find a solution for the war itself and then let's talk about the imprisonment which were practiced to prevent more killing. Also, Canada did worse in its internments. More theft from the victims, and even worse scapegoating.
> What about during the Vietnam war?
What about? It was a badly chosen war that was guaranteed to go past the initial semi-principled stand into a huge quagmire of a proxy war. Dumb idea and bad. But are mistakes forever damning?
> What deeper nuanced meaning am I missing where it balances "freedom and liberty for all" with the massive expansion of the post-9/11 surveilance state?
So, like the Vietnam war, it's a mistake. But fight to save what you've got rather than equating it to the worst dictatorships. It's also a forgivable thing though, to overreact to murder. It took the UK and Ireland a long time to trust each other after the troubles.
You should be proud to be American. Your country at least tries to right wrongs.