 |
 |
||||
|
|
||||
Graham Belmont (gbelmont@hotmail.com)
Sat, 02 Dec 2000 13:17:46 -0600
> > Wow, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were my father, being the
>huge
> > history buff that he is. Especially when it comes to topics such as
>this.
>
>I may be old enough to be your father -- I just turned 49 in September.
>
Right on! You're one year his junior, and then some. He turned 50 in May.
I, on the other hand, am a young'n at 19.
>History is one of the three pillars of civilization, along with language
>and
>mathematics. If you don't know where you've been, how can you ever hope to
>guess at where you may be going? The best way to avoid making mistakes is
>to
>learn from the lessons of those who have, including yourself.
>
Oh, absolutely! Although my history isn't nearly as strong as I'd like it to
be, despite everything my folks have done. My folks tried their hardest when
it came to this kind of stuff (but as a result of it, I'm very politically
active). Some of my favorite memories are of seeing Ladysmith Black Mombazo
live, watching the Berlin Wall come down, and learning about such figures as
frederick Douglas, Nelson Mandela, and, of course, the Dalai Lama. I'll
always love my parents for it, they're the greatest people I know.
I consider myself a rather well spoken person. It often times amazed my
english teachers back in high school (I had really long hair back then, and
wore clothing I wouldn't be caught dead in now).
My math isn't quite as good, but I do enjoy reading up on physics. I find
quantum computing especially interesting, one of my computer programming
teachers from college got me hooked (even tho' he spent more time talking
about that, conspiracies, and 'beaky bears', whatever the hell those are,
then actually teaching us).
>Alas, America was founded by those who sought to break with the past and
>begin
>anew, to such a degree that the whole nation suffers collective amnesia
>about
>anything more than a decade or two in the past.
It's really sad, isn't it? In an age of the TV clicker, fast food, and
cellular phones, everyone has become so engulfed in their own busy lives,
working hard to either pay off bills or accumulate 'empty' things. It seems
nobody gives a rats ass anymore about where they came from, or who suffered
for the very rights they now take for granted.
Even Gundam is still remembered
>only because it's still with us and has been making itself know almost
>continuously for the last 15 years. How many Web sites and mailing lists
>are
>there for Julie the Wild Rose, Future Robo Daltanius, Josephina the Whale,
>Heart
>of the Red Bird, Isabelle of Paris, Marine Express, Dinosaur Age or Fighter
>Gaudeon? They all ran concurrently with Gundam in 1979. The Gundam
>contemporaries we remember are the ones that were remade or updated over
>the
>years: Cyborg 009, Time Bokan, Doraemon, Ultraman, Lupin III, Starzinger,
>Space
>Cruiser Yamato, Gatchaman, Galaxy Express 999 and Blue Noah.
>
I don't think that's entirely true. To an extent, yes. But what about the
greats such as Barefoot Gen? It's a great movie about the horrors of World
War II, as told from the Japanese point of view. Or even Tetsujin 28? Sure,
the show underwent a makeover in the late 70's, but many people still
remember the show because, although it was cheesy, it was truly an anime
great.
> > This is very keen stuff, where'd you find out about it?
>
>One of the dubious benefits of a classical education. That, and being a
>history
>buff.
>
That's the only thing I miss about the college I went to, which was
basically a super fast paced cram school. As soon as I earn the money to pay
it off, I plan on going to either the University of Minnesota, or Illinois
Weslyan.
>If you type "St. Chad" into the Address bar of your browser, you'll find
>dozens
>of Web sites dedicated to this fellow.
>
>-Z-
>
I'll definately do that! (and quiz my old man on it later, heh heh heh)
-G
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com
-
Gundam Mailing List Archives are available at http://gundam.aeug.org/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Sun Dec 03 2000 - 04:00:38 JST