L. M. Lloyd

I was recently watching a series that was part of what I see as a disturbing trend. It was a show that most people would probably describe as "genre TV." Genre TV being a sickening amalgamation of horror, science fiction, fantasy, and pulp, into an otherwise pretty standard format, just with all the trappings to capture a certain demographic. What I find so disturbing about genre TV, is that it is always made by what I tend to call self-hating nerds. Every time I talk to, or see an interview with, one of the creators of these types of shows, they always have basically the same thing to say, which is that they think the show transcends science fiction, and is really more of a drama. I think that is a real shame, because I think that science fiction transcends drama, and is the first step to creating a new mythology that allows us to come to terms with our changing world.

You see, drama, especially of the Hollywood variety, is hopelessly mired in this 19th century idea that there are only thirty-six dramatic situations that encompass all of human existence. Now, I could argue that I think that was a ludicrous idea back when Polti put it down on paper, but that really isn't relevant. What is relevant is how hopelessly quaint that idea is now, in today's world. I can already hear the writers, who are veterans of a million workshops, and who have taken the thirty-six dramatic situations as gospel, screaming in ire, and chomping at the bit to prove that given enough effort they can twist any situation to somehow fit one of the thirty-six situations, but to those people I simply say that you are astrologers. Sure, with enough effort, any intelligent person can make any list of things meet any arbitrary set of requirements, provided the requirements are worded vaguely enough. That is a mental exercise, not an expression of the truth.

Let me put it another way. Since the 19th century, our understanding of mathematics has changed, our understanding of the human psyche has changed, our understanding of society has changed, our understanding of Art has changed several times, our understanding of the very structure of the brain has changed, our understanding of the very fabric of the universe has changed, and even our understanding of what it means to be sentient has changed. Yet, how we tell stories is still firmly rooted in the 19th century, before Freud, before Einstein, before Jung, before Picasso, before Campbell, before radio, before TV, before man had left the planet, before computers, and before global networks. How we tell stories assumes that the fundamental human understanding of the world around us never changes, and so there are timeless themes to which every story must inevitably boil down. That isn't dramatic theory, that is religion. More to the point, it just is not the case.

In reference to the story I just posted earlier, on of my friends replied

Well, that got me to thinking, is socialized medicine really the answer? Obviously it works pretty well in Japan, and I have heard other tales of it working well elsewhere, but does that mean it would work well here in the US? The short answer is that I don't actually think that in any form any politician is discussing, socialized medicine would fix a single thing with our current system. The long answer is, well, long.

I am currently in the middle of an episode that really highlights to me how broken our healthcare system in the US has become. Let me start by saying that I not only have insurance, but I have pretty good insurance, thanks to my wife's employer, who does not skimp on the benefits. So this isn't some sob story about not getting care because I don't have insurance, this is about quality of care, and cost of care. You see, on my recent trip to Tokyo, I got a sinus infection, and had to go see a doctor. Of course finding an English-speaking doctor in Tokyo was daunting, but I ended up finding an ear, nose and throat specialist who agreed to see me. Now, this is where things are going to start sounding kind of weird to people who have only ever had medical care in the US. You see, I got this doctor's name and address from a clinic that didn't have any doctor in at the moment who specialized in ear, nose and throat problems, so they suggested this guy, and gave me his information and hours. So, I am walking up to his office, with no Japanese insurance, no referral, and no appointment, just walking in off the street.

I walk in, and there is no one in the office, except the doctor, who is doing some sort of paperwork. It turns out the clinic had his hours wrong, and his office is closed today, he just happened to be in taking care of some things. He asks me why I am there, and when I tell him my symptoms and predicament,  he tells me to sit down and let him examine me, because it sounds serious. Well, right there my head was spinning. I haven't walked into a doctor's office with no appointment or insurance, and been seen immediately by the doctor ever, much less on his day off. So he has me fill out a page of paperwork, and examines me, says I have a sinus infection, probably brought on by allergies, that is tending toward an ear infection. He gives me several medicines, and tells me he wants me to come back tomorrow, when his staff is in, so he can perform some hearing tests, to see if I have lost any hearing. Then comes the part that I was dreading. He says that I need to pay cash, since I didn't have any insurance. Now, I noticed on the business card they gave me at the clinic, that this guy was not just an M.D. but also had a PhD, and studied at Yale. I knew there was no way that this guy was cheap under any circumstances, and it was certainly going to be worse since he saw me with no appointment on his day off. So, prepared for the worst, I anxiously waited for him to tell me how much it was going to cost. I almost fell out of my chair when he told me the total, including the examination and medicine would be ¥10,000. For those of you who don't keep up with the Yen exchange rate, that is a little under $100!

I was recently reading an article on the web going on about what a gimmick multi-touch technology is, and how they don't see any good use for it. Now, I could not agree less. Sure, the ways it has been used so far are pretty gimmicky, but that doesn't mean it has to be. I haven't worked as an interface designer in years, but even I can see the exciting possibilities presented by the technology. In fact, I can think of tons of way to use it, that I could probably make a fortune off of patenting, but patents aren't cheap, and I don't have the kinds of financial resources to patent every good idea I come up with. So, if you are the wise ass who will read this article, and then go out and file a patent from what you read, then at least have the decency to offer me a job, ok?

Anyway, the ways I see it being really useful are mainly for creative applications, as that is where I spend most of my time. I'm sure it has exciting applications elsewhere, but I will focus on the creative ones.