IRL Cyberpunk * Digital Nomad • BMW Diagnostics * Automotive Locksmith * Gun User * Photographer* Former Poland Dweller * Pro Ai * Tiny Mustache Man was right
There is no clearer example of the gap between the Beach Boys and the Beatles than the fact that John Lennon was so evil that he inspired a peaceful man to kill him, while Dennis Wilson invited a serial killer into his home and he didn't kill any of them, not even bald Mike Love
We took the kids to Japan last month. It was my 3rd trip, Sara’s 2nd, & their 1st. They of course loved it.
But a few days into Tokyo they said something that was more profound than I think they realized, “It’s not futuristic.”
Before the trip they had watched a bunch of videos showing how Tokyo was going to feel like the future (It’s how we ended up at a capybara cafe.)
And they really did love Japan. In Tokyo we ended up at the fish market almost every morning because they wanted to keep going back and try different foods. Blowtorched scallops, oysters, and BBQ octopus were the favorites.
We had Kobe beef, made our own chopsticks, went to the Nintendo Museum, had deer bow to us in Nara. It was an incredible trip. I highly recommend it, especially with elementary/middle school-age kids.
But their observation was quite specific. There were no Cybercabs, no Waymos, no delivery robots on the sidewalk, all things they see every day in Austin.
I was a kid in the late 80s/early 90s (don't do the math please 🙏). I grew up on anime and cyberpunk, and later Blade Runner and Akira. Tokyo was the image of the future.
Even one of my kids’ favorite movies, Big Hero 6, imagines the future as a mashup of San Francisco and Tokyo.
My kids went all the way to Tokyo expecting to see the future and instead the future was at home.
We may be leaving the cyberpunk era and entering the cowboy futurism era.
Imagine being a Waymo, with all of your protrusions and cameras and such, pulling up to an intersection next to a sleek Cybercab with no steering wheel. I would be so embarassed.
I love it when j33ts come into my comments saying things like "oh we are richer than you", "you are just jealous go live in your trailer"
Motherfucker, I've been gainfully employed since the age of 15. I've got a degree (worthless though), dozens of IT certifications, high six-figure job, 12 acre of property, and building a custom house. You're bitchass just got here, working for companies I helped build.
I am speaking out because I want my fellow Americans and Texans to reach the success I have, and I'm seeing it slip away due to incompetent government and greedy boomers.
Fuck you, fuck your culture, and we are going to get your ungrateful asses out of this country.