Talkin' Bout' My G-G-Generation

      It's interesting to note that kids these days (ie. under 30) are in love with themselves.  I think every generation generally is, though the previous ones would embrace earlier works of art, literature, and media whole-heartedly.  This generation (which you all know is dubbed (by me) as Generation Zero) refuses to look-back.  This could almost be a good thing, hoping a level of progression exists, but it does not.  You cannot progress if you do not have an earlier starting point to base progression off of.  Essentially, you're starting with zero (hence, even more perfection of my definition of those born in the "naughts" as "Generation Zero".  Serendipitously awesome there.  I'd like my Pulitzer in 10s and 20s please, keep the trophy, unless it's gold, then melt it down and give me the cash-value of it at the current going-rate).

     GZ tends to be quite sensitive to those who recommend something from the '70s or '80s that might be super-awesome and disregard it as "old" and therefore negligible.  It's an odd connection.  When I was growing-up, others would recommend something 20 or 30 years older than myself and I'd give it a go and sure enough it was noteworthy and impressive.  Talent is talent, despite the age of it.  Some musicians realize that certain equipment was of higher caliber than present-day efforts, such as analog equipment.  The HipHop Industry raves over the Roland DR-808 drum machine, ugly and cumbersome as it is, this device has a particular warm and iconic "thud" on the kick-drum that is pleasing to every generation's ear.  Certain guitarists' chorus-effects can be best-produced from earlier Boss Chorus Ensemble devices from the mid-1970's.  Often, analog devices are somehow more pleasing to the eye or ear, and ultimately "brain".  I can remember when we all switched to digital LCD (or LED) screens from massive analog CRT computer screens several years ago.  I remember that though they looked "crisp" there was a je-ne-se-qua element missing and it came-off as being cold, perhaps vacant or "false" in some way. 

Generation Zero cannot tell if this is real or not (it is).

     When I see CGI in a movie, I can see that missing element of analog-y-ness, like some pixilated doppelganger out-of-place more-so than even a hand-drawn cartoon or a Claymation Ray Harryhousen brilliance.  It seems, despite great digital efforts, utterly pathetic and fake compared to an analog or "practical" effect.  Ah, how I miss the actual "Stunt Man".  The "real-ness" of things just impresses me: the talent, the honesty, the integrity of it.  This synthetically-rendered world is getting on my nerves, and it lacks of professionalism somehow, it's dryness creeps around every corner like a blow-up-doll in a passenger-seat, the driver trying to fool the Law in the carpool-lane.  I ain't fooled.  It lacks quality.

     We can look, however, to the concept of what "quality" is, as is explained in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.  From that (rather lengthy) book, one can philosophize that "quality" is universally agreed-upon, though truly, it is not.  Quality itself is an individualistic element, different to each of us.  Sure, the CGI-master-renderer can simulate very closely elements of Truth to get very close.  Still, what is lacking?  It's hard to tell exactly "what".  Once in a while, I can be not sure in a low-videophile environment (such as on a tablet or "smart"-phone) that I'm being tricked.  As we increase quality of viewing to microscopic levels, it's easier to tell, and it sticks-out like a sore thumb.

MP3 or M4A files mean you can have a ton of songs in a small space.  2 Loss-free files in comparison visually.

 
     Back to the topic, when you mention that Steve McQueen in Bullitt was actually driving like a madman in real-life in that Ford Mustang, they shrug it off to the excellence of some of the Fast and Furious films, even though the physics in a bridge-jump with a front-wheel-front-engine car would make it nose-down hard.  Mentioning the physics silliness of it makes them respond ambivalently.  "It just looks cool!" like some Applejacks commercial from the 1980's, "We just do!"  Uh-huh. 



Fake car race in Cars 2 (2011)

 

Actual car race in Bullitt (1968) with no safety and real drivers.

 

Actual jump, no safety, no fake car, no mods. Bullitt (1968)

Dodge Charger got f*cked-up pretty badly throughout the chase, especially after the previous jump (above).

     When a kid I know at work mentioned that he thinks Arcade Fire is an excellent band, particularly for their guitar-work, I respond to that with, "Well, you should also consider Joe Satriani or perhaps some Dream Theater."  Shrugged-off.  Why?  It's older than him so therefore shunt.  I never did that.  I never closed my doors to things before 1969.  It's part of history.  It's part of Americana.  In this case, the kid was born around 1994.  Pre-1994 doesn't exist for him.  He won't allow it for the most part.  He's the most open-minded of the bunch, too.  Others won't give pre-birthday a chance.  You know, 12 Angry Men is a good flick.  Ignored with, "That was before I was born!"  Right.  Not everything is awesome upon your birth and beforehand the world was zero.  Not by a longshot.

     I think that there's a sensitivity to this generation's feelings, that things could possibly be better before them, that there were rock-and-roll giants in the 1960s and 1970s such as Led Zeppelin and Queen, wearing those concert shirts ironically without knowing the bands they wear.  Non-fans liking great album-art (now almost dead thanks to digital media).  Little kids refusing to leave their playpens.



So sweet, the sound!

     I installed an 8-Track player in my 2012 Corvette GS.  The audio-quality was surprisingly exceptional, that analog-goodness through Bose speakers were impressive.  Same song converted to an MP3 through a USB stick was clearer in some ways but not as rich.  Too bad the 8-Track doesn't quite play well due to its mechanical spiral setup.  I find Bluray-Audio and DVD-Audio tracks to be "acceptable" however.  CDs are just "good".  MP3 files are painful at highest-quality.  M4A files (iTunes) is unlistenable junk and about as lo-fi as you can get.  I'd rather listen to MIDI (.MID) files than M4A.  Hurts the brain like converting your collection to Atari 2600-format with the mid-range spiked at 1k Hz.  God help us, these GZ-ers prefer it!  They PREFER it!

     Hopefully, BluRay Audio will seep into our world, or 4K BluRay (no cool name for that yet, probably just 4K, though 8K exists in Japan already, we're 2 generations behind, some folks haven't graduated from 1976's 5.1-Surround format yet!  That's right.  5.1 came-out in 1976!) 

     If you're born after 1993, I recommend strongly you don't feel sad that you missed a hell-of-a-ride from the 50's through the 80's (and arguably the 40's).  You have such an adventure to set-upon!  So much good music, movies, and art back-then.  A little weird?  Sure, sometimes.  There's elements that will appeal to your lizard-brain-medulla-oblongata (aka ancient memory DNA) in some way as it did us.  I'll listen to your music and you can listen to mine.  Try it.  Start with the Academy Award Winning movies of each year, starting from 1940.  Not a movie-fan?  Consider the Billboard Top 10 of each year.  Will take you an afternoon to go from 1940 to present-day (Billboard started in 1936, so you could essentially one-up me and start there).  Enrichen your mind!  Fear not!  Begin, children.  BEGIN!

We shall be your guide.. on an ADVENTURE!  Join US!  Or.. maybe you can do it on your own.. it's up to you...

OUT!

You're Wrong, Go Cry

 

Military doctor ready for your lawsuit-exempt operation

I've noticed over the years a lot of people ask my opinion on things, or a way-forward, as most of the people I work with are much younger than myself by at least 10 years, and I'm doing quite well for myself in life and what-not, which is nice.

What's in here?

Choices...

Interestingly, most people literally freak-out uncontrollably when they ask my opinion on something and I reply that I don't like it.  I've been told I can get a bit "harlequin" about things, (ie. passionate) in my opinions.  If I don't like something and you ask, I'll say so; upfront.  Over the years I pause upon someone asking my opinions, because I know that I probably don't like something stupid when a guy asks me, "Whaddya think about... such-and-such?"  I know that if I don't like it, I'll say so, and then they'll rave on-and-on about that and be very upset, that I might be picking nits or being over-critical.  Apparently I've hit some sort of nerve.  I'm not sure if these people want me to just say, "Oh, it's great!  Everything you like is great and I like it too!" to satisfy their fragile, teen-girl-like self-esteem or something.  I explain quietly and in-detail what specific elements I don't care for, as, well, it's my opinion.   If I ask your opinion and you don't like something that I do, and then you explain why, that's fine.  I may not have considered your point-of-view!  I gain knowledge and wisdom from that.  I'm not a child.  You're just (understandably) wrong, and quite likely retarded.

She disagrees with me: Emma Blackery without makeup.

That's just it.  It's my opinion.  That's all.  I'm allowed and entitled to not like things for my own personal reasons (which are usually very clever and intellectual and well thought-out because, after-all, I'm an expert, along with eHal.) 

I creator of things!  I make a bay-bay!

Now, if you're a creator of things, like music or what-have-you, then that's great.  Good fer-yeeewww!  Still, I might not like some things that you did, like when you played all-retarded-like on the electric-hurdy-gurdy, or using a miniature couch incorrectly (for obvious reasons).  Use my explanation of criticism to advance, or at least consider it.  Don't have your pee-pee hurt because of it, lest you wear a girl-wig and rub girly perfumes all over yourself and frolic with unicorns in the gay-glen.  Just accept and learn, eh?  If you like it and I don't, that's fine.  It's your opinion, (however uneducated that is.)  This world has become so sensitive to negative feedback!  Sheesh, Gen-Zero'ers!  Really?  You need head-pets all the time?  You can be dumb and go on your merry way, little one.  Enjoy your dumbness and be told you're right when you're wrong. 

Ger'er DUN!

Good night!  (a ding-ding-ding-ding)..

Out.

Top 10 Best Sci-Fi for Gen-Zero'ers

 

Offering nothing to the world since 1997

 It was suggested to me from a rather wise shaman-woman that I shouldn't be so harsh on today's ignorant youth, what with their must-have cellular demands and inability to read a Triple-A map, so for them, to get them inducted into sci-fi, I give you...

It's from Robocop (1987) kids.  Sheesh.

The Top 10 Best Sci-Fi for Gen-Zero'ers!
 
  This list (everyone loves to read lists, it seems) is directed towards the odd revulsion Generation Zero kids have against imbibing anything older than themselves.  Though this advise is only best for scotch, I acquiesce and will assume the twitchy kids out there have this given proof as standard.  Indeed, most readers don't know what life was before the internet, or even Facebook.  Yep, people had to go outside and have a life.  Luckily, you don't have to do that anymore, cyberpunks!  Here's a nice list that is within your lifetime that you should try-out before you get to the "big boy" previous list.  Be advised, of the 150 movies I reviewed that were sci-fi-esque since 2000, almost none of them were really any good, either because they were campy or just plain retarded.  I'd seen all of them;  all 150 (to my horror).  Because of this I am an expert.  Say it to yourselves, "Mike is an expert."  Very good.  Of the 150, they were all horrible, except for these 10.  This will get you started.  If you can think of one not listed, feel free to add in the comments below (so I can tell you you're wrong).  jk.. L0LZ!!!1!one

1. Pitch Black (2000)
  Ship carrying photosensitive prisoner crash-lands on a world with 3 suns which set only once every 22 years, and it's due.  What's in the dark?  Modern action star Vin Diesel gets a leg-up career-wise with this elaborate city-mouse, country-mouse setup with everyone an anti-hero angle.  Great use of lens-play make a saturated landscape art-piece.

2.  Equilibrium (2001)
    Dystopian, George Orwellian future (read 1984 kids, it's a good novel) has "clerics" as police who learn gun-kata, a beautifully-created-for-the-film, gun-based martial-arts form.  All goes well until one forgets to take is ambivalence pill, then the truth is revealed!

3.  Firefly (TV series) then watch Serenity (2005)
    Probably the best sci-fi series ever made by The Avengers director Joss Whedon, the final film is ultimately the final episode, tying everything together, so it's best you watch the single 1 season first in a gorge-watch-session on Netflix before the movie-viewing.  Some call it "cowboys in space" but it works (unlike Space Cowboys and Cowboys and Aliens which were unwatchable); about a darker future and a mysterious, shy girl with a past (the key ingredients of any anime).  Find out why everyone raves about it.  The character development is better than almost anything ever made, and I've never met anyone who hated this series and film, even those dead inside.

4.  The Island (2005)
    At first when I started watching this film, I thought it was a discount Logan's Run (1976), ah but it's much more than that (and less, in other ways, and not as dreary, and no "Box").  I won't give away the plot but Ian Macgregor, Scarlet Johansson, and Steve Buscemi make for an interesting near-future ride about escape from a domed-city Paradise.

5.  Children of Men (2006)
    Rather panned-over in 2006, the attention to subtle detail, such as the instrument cluster in a futuristic car showing correct "telemetry" is time-consuming brilliance.  Mankind cannot breed anymore and time is running-out for the human race, set to extinction.  One woman could save the world?

6.  The Dark Knight (2007)
    I know this is a comic-book film, and it's DC (give me one sin-point, as I'm a Marvel true-believer) but honestly, I've never seen a battle of Lawful Good versus Chaotic Evil pulling at a True Neutral character so expertly and seamlessly before.  Almost perfect (except for the BatCycle up-the-wall turn-around) I was totally engrossed in its believability and genuinely good acting for a change in this genre (a few others exist).  Heath Ledger's last role as The Joker is expertly played-out to it's finality.  Batman has never been told in such grace, nor will it ever again.  A work of art, truly.

7.  District 9 (2009)
    Though a simple, kind mirror of apartheid in South Africa, this prejudistic alien-invasion become slum-like unwanteds as a lesser-race, until things start to change.  Gritty and a good use of CGI make for an involving plot that will leave you wanting a sequel.

8.  Repo Men (2010)
     I know this one is based on a better version a few years earlier, but I just loved it.  Men are hired to repossess medical organs if payments are not made on-time, until there's a mistake in this near-future tale.  Forest Whitaker plays hardcore and Jude Law the anti-hero along with stunningly exotic Brazilian Alice Braga (Moraes) in this Canadian (?!) dystopia.

9.  Gravity (2013)
    Out just a bit ago now, these two actors, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney were huge 20 years ago as a last-hoorah film for them both.  Two astronauts on a repair-mission in near-earth orbit deal with catastrophic failure.  Released in IMAX 3D make for a stunning spectacle.  If you have the technology at home to watch in in 4K 3D, you should.  If you watch it on a normal TV, as Count Floyd from SCTV would say, "You're only be seeing this thing in.... 1/2 D!"

10.  Interstellar (2014)
    I've said it again, Disney's The Black Hole (1979) mixed with Silent Running (1972) is almost the same film, though composer Hans Zimmer makes great use of pipe-organ ambiance depicting a treacherous super-black-hole as a wormhole opens near Saturn to another galaxy for mankind's survival against a crop blight that devastates all food sources.  Don't worry, it's not Jody Foster's stupid  Contact (1997[now])! Very intense and interesting, though scientifically inaccurate (black holes will crush your face/soul in quick (or no) time if you get close), it still delivers an interesting tale about time relativity issues and space-travel.  A good watch.

Gen-Zero approved!

  Okay, so there you have it.  Watch these for fun.  I left-out Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men: Days of Future Past because they were a bit not right for the list, but also good watches in my opinion, especially if you're a Marvel Comic fan.  If you don't know X-Men at all, the latter will be a bit confusing, but for me, who grew up on it, pure syrup-y goodness.  I left out Hobo with a Shotgun because you're not ready for what that represents until you watch everything John Carpenter has done, then love that, then you can watch it.

DUH!

  Have at it, Gen-Zero'ers, and it's okay to bring your iCrap with you, because I know you can't focus on one thing at a time.  It's okay, (petting head), I need you to work at fast-food forever (petting head).  If you liked these, you'll love the original list as well I warrant!

Honorable mention:  Dredd (2012) and Space Battleship Yamato (2010)





Out!

One real one for the ladies, "You like my sci-fi, baby?!  Do yuh?  I'm stuck on this metal table.. um.."