Slow Futurism

The economic crisis coupled with swine flu has brought upon a feverish quest for real-time information.  Mankind has been fully immersed in the moment, but, this moment is hanging and waiting for "the future".  Here right now, with rapt attention, we want to know.  All the tools for this state are in place, with a global information system at our disposal.  Tomorrow never comes.

This state of prediction of now for later is endemic of our culture.  It is counterbalanced by the "Slow" movement of past and present and thoughts of the future for "now".  But even this slow now promises a better future.  As an aside, this is nothing new.  Various religions have historically offered perspectives on our relationship with the state of now.  Now has always been a participatory endeavor.  In this month's issue of Frieze Magazine, Jonathan Griffin offers an analysis of cultural perspectives on "The Future" and proposes it is time to "resurrect the lost art of looking forward".  This essay, entitled "Future Conditional" points out the current lack of children's reading material which is futuristic in essence.

Futuristic tendencies often arise when old boundaries are erased.  The man on the moon was a shaping force for the cultural products of our youth.  For our children, the internet is not a new frontier, but, a given part of everyday reality.  Instead of new spaces, our children are faced with fatalistic concerns about the lack of new boundaries.  The global boundless nature of our culture has given birth to fears about globalism, global warming, global pandemics.  So, a retreat from the notion of new spaces providing new opportunities is underway and the shaping of the concept of the word "future" is being redrawn.

The future has shifted back to the "now".  Conceptually, this does not have to be problematic or purely nostalgic.  The "now" is and always has been immensely creative.  Think, make, do and march forward.  Real-time is your tool.

The End of The Year...

The end of the year...Missmarketcrash cannot bear to follow the norm and present her dear readers with an examination the past year and the expected predicting of what will be in the incoming. The looking back bit is usually filled with a cozy nostalgia, a bit of human tragedy, a joke or two, and someone or something commercially successful (which would almost always only be appealing to someone who was either in love with mediocrity, or, had a camp sense of the world). In other words, a lot of mundane obviousness would greet your eyes. The looking forward part is usually not rocket science - merely a confirmation of trends already established. Another thing Missmarketcrash knows you would love to read, but, it really would not offer What We Are All Looking For. I presume tomorrow's media will look backward with a heady mixture of fear and optimism, but, the looking forward bit will prove a bit more difficult.

The End Of The Year sounds much more ominous that it did in the past. I think we all know that things that have been occuring this year are scheduled to carry on and perhaps frighten us a bit more in the New Year. So, all the looking forward usually done on New Year as a new dawn/new beginning seems to be cancelled this year.

(...long pause...you are now inside your head rather than mine...)

Apologies for offering nothing more than a bit of silence - though silence is one of those things that can be very very positive and refreshing...even innovative.

Especially after spending a week with the in-laws.