Some of you know it's my dream to become a billionaire and do the whole space tourism thing (this year the first privately developed spacecraft went into orbit!), so I'm sympathetic to a certain degree of sci-fi. Even so, Snow Crash = Wowwww. I agree with Tori's post, it's pretty much the culmination of one very nerdy male's fantasies.
I will admit his future world is kind of cool (anarchy with property rights/ anarcho-capitalism = uLt1mat3 mAniFEstAti0n 0f fr33d0m!11!!), but the fact that the protagonist(a) was such an insufferable beezy was hard to overlook, especially since Y.T. was such a central part of the book. The random, pedophilic sex scene (possibly the worst sex scene ever printed, even worse than in the Fountainhead haha) was so obviously written by a male (e.g. "she does something she's never done before: comes as soon as he goes into her...she just rips one." hilarious- and also, what's the point of a "dentata" if the guy can still get at that? not very effective). The many comments about Y.T.'s nymphomaniacal nature were unnecessary. Not to sound like Rachel on a feminist rant, but come on! ;) I understand this was a revolutionary piece for its time, but the technology is pretty believable/realistic to me. In all it was alright- much more enjoyable than a textbook, so I'm not complaining.
The Newseum was amazing!! I'd say it's my favorite of the museums I've been to, after the National Portrait Gallery. Loved the Berlin Wall segments and the Unabomber's shed (!!). Maggy and I enjoyed the epic Five Freedoms Walk. :)
We've seen some intense developments in the world this semester: the election of our first black president, the Thai political crisis, Mumbai terror attacks, scary rampant government bailouts- it's been a good year to be in DC and start learning about World Politics and Econ. I've certainly expanded my knowledge a lot this semester- translation: I tripled the amount of questions I have about the world.
See you guys around!
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Haha, for once we will actually agree about something :)
I wrote like an epic about the whole Y.T. sexuality thing...not even really as much of a femminist argument as much as a reason argument I feel.
I found the whole dentata thing really bizarre as well...haha
Would you seriously want to live in this future? I guess that it is sort of compatable with the whole libertarian thing you are so fond of, but really? Or are you joking?I wasn't quite sure...
Haha well the whole l33t-speech was me poking fun at anarcho-libertarians. I'm not that radical, and of course I wouldn't want to live in the world of Snow Crash, but it's interesting to imagine a society where you are truly, completely free. Most people think they ARE free and WANT to be free, when really there are some freedoms we are ready to (and do) relinquish without a second thought. Personally, I'm cool with the gov taking care of my defense, courts, enforcing contracts and all that good stuff.
and your blog post was hilarious and grand as usual-
"I would be more than happy to explain in depth how Jane Austen creates incredibly complex characterization (of both males and females), whereas Neal Stephenson is only capable of creating sad conduits for conveying his version of the universe."
hahaha, I'm not big on Austen but this is so true. They can't be compared.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but the first privately owned spacecraft to enter orbit, the SpaceShipOne, built by Mojave Aerospace Ventures and Scaled Composites, launched on June 21, 2004.
Click for awesome.
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/spaceshipone-2.jpg
I love this blog post. haha! I agree with you on so many levels... especially about how unnecessary and pathetic all the sexual references were. The dentata was brought up time and time again as an indestructable force never to be reckoned with, yet, somehow, the greater power of male dominance was able to get past such security measures.
and as far your dreams for going up up and away to space, I have confidence it will happen!
Wow, I think it's so funny how many people have brought up the sexual aspect of Snow Crash! Clearly there's a consensus that it was unnecessary, I'm glad that everyone else was bothered by it too!
I went to the Newseum over the summer and was also very impressed... the 9/11 exhibit actually brought me to tears. It's one of my fav's in D.C. too, I'm glad you all got to go! While you all were there, I was giving my sister a tour of the mall, in particular the new visitor center at the Capitol and the American history museum... I wasn't impressed with either of these as much as I was with the Newseum, but I would still suggest going if you have the time!
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