The Chronic Rift

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2009/06/16/bbi.flying.car.cnn

CNN has a piece today on how our science fiction future fizzled out - http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/05/29/jetpack/index.html

Just watching an episode of Wonder Woman from the third season, "Time Bomb", where Ted Shackleford and Joan Van Ark travel from the future into our present.  Van Ark wants to take advantage of our greed and Shackleford is trying to stop her.  At one point, he comments that things were different after the nuclear disasters of 2007.

I totally forgot to mention Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game.  I kept bringing it up in meetings and brain-farted during the recording.

In Ender's Game (1985), people are surfing the internet and using laptop computers as naturally as my nephew poops in his daiper.

This was fun. I must admit, I haven't watched most of the visual items you mentioned, but then I guess, judging by the dirth of literary references, you haven't read the books I've read. It was fun though. John never mentioned what to expect in the next episode. Care to spill the beans?

What you got right: a thoroughly enjoyable discussion.  What I got wrong: THE FREAKIN' TITLE OF THE SHOW!!!  ARRRGGGHHH!!!  Honestly, the only thing that was flying must have been my brain!  Sorry folks.  John, I'll gladly redo it for archive puposes.  Sigh.

I certainly enjoyed "Dude, Where's My Flying Car," aka "Dude, Where's My Car" (oops?) aka "The War of the Doctors Against the Porn Stars To See Who Can Advance Technology Further."  I listened very actively, thinking things like "What about 1984?  Someone needs to bring up 1984!  Oh, great, they remembered!" and "Oh, right, that hologram thing on CNN -- I forgot about that!"  Even though I was the one who first posted about the CNN hologram here on our forums.  Sometimes my brain isn't firing on all cylinders, apparently.

Anyway, if this cheers anyone up, replicas of the umbrellas used in Blade Runner ARE available online!  So you can pretend that we're really living in the future!!!

With some excellent points being made.  I was completely unshocked to hear a CERTAIN person bring up the porn, and equally unshocked to hear another person become very silent when SHE was told about interactive Doctor Whoing

Things I want to see before I die
Flying cars - But could you IMAGINE letting the average driver control them??  They're bad enough on the ground, but imagine a car crash a thousand feet above NYC??  That, plus the current state of air traffic control which can't actually handle any more traffic because the skies are too crowded in certain cities.

Cloned organs/limbs - No "whole body cloning" but the ability to replace failed organs/lost limbs would be good.

Interactive Hard Light Holographics - Yes, the porn industry *sighs* would definitely take this to new heights (lows?) but I'm already a fan of gaming and the thought of playing Metal Gear Solid 10 in a holodeck makes me giddy.

Teleportations - Only if they invest in mosquito nets to keep out those pesky flies.

Lastly, I've NEVER seen Who Wants to be a Superhero.. *ashamed*

And finally *SMACKS John upside the head as requested*