Perspectives

The Time Warp


What is the Time Warp? It's a glimpse into our past and a look into possible futures. We will be looking at how we saw ourselves, what's changed, and what is no longer here; we shall also take the role of futurist and give some insights into where we think we are going. These insights will be open to debate as are most predictions - we are notoriously bad at predicting our short term future. For instance, during the 1939 World's Fair it was predicted that by 1960 there would be floating dirigible hangers (think water bearings) that could be easily pointed in the direction of the prevailing winds thus facilitating takeoffs. However by 1946, economics, advances in aviation, the war and the Hindenberg, spelled the demise of the blimp and the necessity for hangers to house them. Today, what hangers do exist are mainly used for other purposes and blimps and blimp hangers have become a curiosity. Not being immune to curiosity, a couple of years ago I ran in a 10K "Run through the Hangers" at the Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin, California, home of the largest blimp hangers in the world.

It's been said that true enlightenment is moment-to-moment awareness. This is significant since our sensory systems are designed for change - not constancy - and we should be programmed to reach this form of enlightenment somewhat automatically. This however isn't the case. We filter our inputs to keep the barrage of sensory information from overwhelming us. Thus is it any wonder that on a perceptual basis we go around largely unaware of the small perturbations around us and thus fall prey to loosing touch with the big picture? Being aware - moment-to-moment takes work.

Come with us. See where we have been. Let us know where you think we are going. If you have any ideas on topics you would like to see in The Time Warp or would like to submit an essay for possible inclusion, please email us at comments@armchair.com.

TOPICS

Los Angeles in the 1930's

What happened to the Brown Derby, Perino's, Bullock's Wilshire, and the Assistance League? find out and more...

Reminiscence on the Kennedy Assassination

Vietnam veteran Bill Hilliard remembers the day that John Kennedy was assassinated, what he was thinking and how it changed his life.

Joe Funk - a sketch

Artist and writer Keith Kirts writes about Joe Funk - an artist and master lithographic printer working in Venice, CA in the 1960's and 1970's. In those days 'Iris' was the name of a flower and most would have thought that 'dye sublimation' was a psychological term.

The History and Promise of Jojoba

Find out about the plant which just might become an important resource by the year 2000.

An Interview with Larry Albright - Neon Artist

How neon technology has evolved from a signage medium to a medium of artistic expression.

Women Inventors

A turn of the century look at women inventors

Coming Topics


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Text © 1996 Gary Fisher

©1996 Armchair World, Los Angeles, California, USA.

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