Life doesn't suck.

I have seen this new spread of people of my generation whining about how hard life is. These are rich, fat Americans, who are somehow convinced that life is bad. This was before the economy tanked. Of course, a first-world economy tanking is hardly the end of life, especially our society, which seems to be based on owing money. But the truth of the matter is, life still doesn't suck. These young people confuse me, and I'm their age. If these people believe life is so horrible, what do they think will make them happy? Was life better 20 years ago? 100?

This love of gloom and doom is silly, and I wonder if they see how ridiculous they look? Global Warming is the main thing they leech onto, but do they know major rivers in the US used to be sludge? Acid rain used to scrape mountains clean, for instance. Heck, American cities used to look like Chinas do now.

But thats not the point of this post. The point is, dream a little. It doesn't matter if polar bears go extinct, or the sea level rises, live your life. Don't get overwhelmed by the information revolution, use it, play with it, toss it aside when your done. If you work hard enough and are willing to delay gratification, you might achieve your dreams. Or not, its acceptable to fail. Success is meaningless without failure, after all.

Homo superior

Its this idiotic view that being a bit stronger or smarter than others, you become morally better than them, and can make decisions for them. It was popular in early pulp sci-fi, where supermen were hounded by the inferior little people. But it never went out of style in the real world, and one can argue that both parties subscribe to it. To our betters in washington, their advanced degrees give them the right to spend the money of the little people. Unfortunately, superpowers or advanced degrees don't actually make you morally better.

I might not like this idea in comics, but I can ignore it to watch supermen fighting. However, when its my country, and my future, I cannot. It is an evil view of the world, and evil men believe in it. Its time for some humility.

Alternatively, the morons in DC could just ignore me, thats OK. However, they need to realize that they lack certain traits Superman has.

Boring sleek sci-fi

I have noticed that while anime sci-fi may go too far into the giant robot territory, the over-the-top weapons, starships, and robots are fun to watch. Star Wars has the same attitude, although its more of a fantasy than a sci-fi.

Science Fiction doesn't mean trying to look "realistic". But Hollywood seems obsessed with stripping away the weirdness. Star Wars aside, most sci-fi is set in the modern world, or a dreary, depressing future. Its settings are so boring, I wan't to fall asleep. They can sometimes keep me awake with explosions, but can we please have a happier science fiction?

OK, this is for the writers that have a chance to get published (this is a consumers request): Don't whimper about the weak economy, or make up BS excuses. When you find yourself trying to be topical, stop. Its tempting, but whats happening now is whats happening now, and should have nothing to do with science fiction.You'll look like a moron in twenty years, I guarantee ya.

Post-Apocalyptic

I have always liked the magical "after the ancient empire fell" worlds of Final Fantasy and other Japanese games and shows. They have beautiful forests, shining medieval style cities, and wandering monsters. COmpare to the burnt wastelands of American post-apocalyptic worlds. These barren wastelands are completely unrealistic, if you look at places hit by superweapons/toxins in the real world.

Sites where dioxin has spilled have regrown, even if it killed many animals when it spilled. Chernobyl is a forest with wolves and owls prowling overgrown schools and soccer stadiums.
Then the biggie: Hiroshima. Looking at Hiroshima today, you cannot tell it got nuked, which is probably why the Japanese understand the truth that life goes on.

OK, so nukes are not a good lifecleanser long-term. Radiation doesn't make monsters, so if you want a world with monsters and old tech, whats a writer to do? Easy, get creative with the cause. OK, a world where trench warfare stretches on huge fronts, until one side invents a new poison gas. However, this stuff reacts with another poison gas, which no one expects. The strange substance created gets into the environment, twisting animals and plants, and the resulting mess led to the modern world of nomads and cities walled to keep out toxic creatures. Kinda close to Girl Genius, though.

A sci-fi world, where reality cracking weapons are used is another way to mix up post-apocalyptic fiction. Reality crackings lets us go full magitech mode. We can have biotech knights, mutant wizards, and robots fighting alongside and against each other. I know, kinda silly, but I'm just tired of the laziness. Evil robots and nuclear war are sorta overdone, after all.

Witch Hunter Robin

Witch Hunter Robin is, so far, an excellent anime. The Japanese branch of some organization called STN gets a transfer from Italy, Robin Sena. She was raised on a convent, and has a powerful, if not always accurate, flame blast ability. She is a modest and decent main character who doesn't revert to empty tough girl rhetoric or mousy submission. The series is fairly dark, and so far reminds me of CSI with magic. A murder, or freakiness, followed by an investigation. So far, so good.

The people seem decent, even the lazy one, and I slightly dread the fact that something awful will happen to them, this being serious anime. Please note, anime newcomers, anime directors are not after infinite shows (Unlike Americans), and thus, will gleefully murder the most lovable characters if the plot calls for it. But the only way to d=find out is too watch!