When SF writer Isaac Asimov visited the New York World’s Fair of 1964, he pondered “What will life be like, say, in 2014 A.D., 50 years from now? What will the World’s Fair of 2014 be like?”
He got a couple of things spectacularly right and a lot spectacularly wrong:
What he got right: You will see as well as hear the person you phone…the phone screen can be used to see documents and photos read passages from books…you will be able to direct-dial any spot on earth.
What he got wrong: Moon colonies…colonization of the continental shelves…suburban houses underground…ceilings and walls will glow softly, and in a variety of colors that will change at the touch of a push button…fully automated kitchens…fission-power plants will be supplying well over half the power needs of humanity…cars will be capable of crossing water on their jets…etc.
Asimov predicts the world of 2014
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Speaking of right and wrong…
Talking about history in movies and books, Brad Kane says:
“History is not a thing of facts and dates…what matters is understanding the essence of our past…I’ve always felt the best history teachers are ones who are great storytellers.
There is a “grey line between history and mythology. History is often written by the victors and/or the historians, and no matter how “accurate” they might try to be, they’re only capturing one perspective on a given period or event.
“History starts to become mythology as soon as the ink is put on the page—names and dates might be accurate, but what really happened, and how it happened, and what it meant, are an interpretation.”
Forget the Facts, Tell a Story:
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31 Day Blog Challenge, #11
15 FAVORITE THINGS
In random order:
coffee, cherries, cats, dogs, wolves, lions, snow, books, friends, the stars, music, getting fanmail from people who liked my stories, exploring new places, finishing something difficult and knowing you did that thing well, loving someone who loves you back.
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See Spot run…?
If this isn’t true, it ought to be.
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14 Writers Put Their Writing Advice on Their Hands
Handwritten advice
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Top cities for ‘detective travel’
Murder. Smuggling. Extortion. Here’s all the grit your guidebook won’t mention, but your favorite mystery writer will.
One example is my previous hometown of Cape Town, South Africa .
Guide books say: With Table mountain, the V&A waterfront and vineyards, Cape Town is South Africa’s jewel. (But *I* say it isn’t just South Africa’s treasure. It is the WORLD’S. This is one of the most beautiful places on the planet.)
Crime fiction says: Cape Town suffers from the same corruption, poverty and apartheid hangovers as the rest of South Africa, and has the body count to prove it. But writer Deon Meyer’s dusty city is far more exciting than the yawn-inducing destination portrayed in travel brochures.
Crime in life and fiction
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