Back in high school English, I was surprised to learn that William Shakespeare did not write his plays for critics, people in academia, or nobility. Instead, the plays were written to be performed in a theater that catered to the average working class people of that day. His work did not gain serious acclaim until some time after his death.

This makes me wonder, what things that have been created during our lifetimes will be remembered or possibly even revered many generations from now? It seems to me that in the busy environment that we live in today, things are quickly forgotten, even if they make a big impact in their own time. I was born in 1974, and I am totally drawing a blank on this subject.

Things that will be remembered.

Brittney and K-fed
Divine Brown( Hugh Grants hooker)
Tonya Harding
George Michael's (public bathroom incident)
Mary Kay Laterno
Pewee Herman spankin his monkey in the adult theater

Damn good topic Alfredo. I'm sitting here with the wheels grinding hard...

Internet comes to mind.

We live in historic times where matters of law, society and technology collide.

Those of us living right now will decide some elementary things that will determine how things go for generations to come. It's a lot like founding a nation in this regard.

Matters of freedom, privacy, ethics, and information itself continue to work their way through a legal system that does not yet have a large enough body of case law to properly address the matters put before it.

Where is our cyber bill of rights, for example?

Where society is concerned, it's quickly becoming clear that we, as a race, still have a lot of issues to work through. I'm not sure we will be able to actually deal with being connected in the way our tech makes possible. Will we evolve, or will we simply not persue some tech implications because it's against our own nature?

I've been following these things with great interest since the early 90's. So far, it's been a very interesting ride and I'm not sure it's even peaked yet!

Getting back a bit lower level, I think the open tech movement will be looked upon in a manner similar to our founders. It embodies core ideals that run contrary to many established ones we live with today. It's all very American in this way.

"Welcome Back, Kotter" will of course be one of the few things remembered from the 70s...

Andrew

Heh heh! Actually, I do remember Tonya Harding, George Michael's public bathroom incident, Mary Kay Laterno, and Paul Rubens (aka Pee Wee Herman) getting wacky in the adult movie playhouse. Now, if only I could do something to immortalize these things for future generations!

how about wes cooley?

seriously, I'm thinking GW Bush is going to eclipse Herbert Hoover's reputation as an inept president (duh!) (Hoover didn't quite deserve it though) and I'm willing to bet Bush's reputation as an inept president will surpass knowledge of Bill Clinton's excellent term AND the impeachment thing . . . here's why:

QUICK, WHO WAS PRESIDENT BEFORE HOOVER???

See? You don't know. Whoever it was doesn't matter anymore. Bush has succeeded in creating a new beginning for whoever follows and the standards these new adminstrations meet. Anything that happened before Bush 43 will be rather inconsequencial.


Then there is the Al Gore thing. When the ice skating rink at 20 Rock (NYC) gets flooded in 2056 with Atlantic seawater, Al Gore's stock will rise further.


Of course, if y'all think I'm full of baloney, feel free to say so!

The way the officials robbed the Seahawks of the Superbowl ring last year!!!!

Sorry for indulging in a chuckle in my own serious thread.

I think that Missing_kskd makes some good points about movements/issues unfolding right now that I agree will make the history books:

1) The struggle between the open source/free information movement (Linus Torvalds, et al) and people/organizations who see intellectual property as something to be controlled and highly guarded (ibiquity digital, chipmakers that make you sign non disclosure agreements to get datasheets, etc.)

2) The domestic and international consequences of "the war on terror"

3) The social consequences of the Internet's rapid growth as a mass medium

On that vein, I would also add:

4) The 9/11 terrorist attacks (mainly in terms of their social and political consequences).

5) The social and economic effects of increased globalization

I have started wondering whether some films or other materials related to _Star_Wars_ or _Star_Trek_ might reach people a few generations from today. I'm saying this on the basis that some people have compared the plots of the _Star_Wars_ movies to those of Greek mythology, and others have pointed out that _Star_Trek_ was often used as a platform for metaphorical social commentary.

Stargate!

Best new Sci-fi device conceived yet! Memorable in the same way the original Star Trek is memorable, IMHO.

Porn is much easier to obtain with the advent of the internet. Before you had to actually go to an adult video store(Pray that you don't see anyone there, "Uncle Rob, what are you doing here?") Grab that copy of "pumping flesh" or Rumpleforeskin and make a break for the exit.

LOL....
Sounds like the voice of experience there Justin....

Oh c'mon Joamon you KNOW you have been in That situation.

Nope...never been in that particular situation....nope....never seen the inside of one of those places with the little round tags you take to the counter for a copy of "Naughty Nurses and Dirty Maids"....nope never been there.....