Time Travel Scenarios

 

Time Travel Scenarios

1)One can only travel along a fixed timeline.

The idea is: the time traveller is a tourist that has no agency over the events unravelling.

First variant: he/she can only observe what is going on. (cf. The tourist disasters of 'Fringe')

Second variant: no matter what the time-traveller does, events have been pre-ordained and will occur regardless. ('la Jetée'->'The 12 Monkeys'; 'Donny Darko'; 'Terminator 3')

2)Actions change the future.

In this scenario, the time traveller can act and therefore alter the chain of events. (cf. Bradbury's 'A Sound Of Thunder'; 'Primer'; 'The Butterfly Effect'; 'Happy Deathday'; 'TimeCop')

The German series 'Dark' plays the second hypothesis against the first one.

...And then throws in the third logic for good measure!

3)Creating alternative chains of events.

Every action creates a new chronology that branches out from the original timeline: it's the multiverse theory. (This is what the Terminator makers resorted to in the 5^th? Movie, having pretty much exhausted the second train of thought.).

PRACTICAL MEASURES TO FIGHT THE EARTH'S DESTRUCTION

People may feel helpless; think that the apocalypse going on has nothing to do with them; or else take the easy way out and “blame the government” or “the others” - which is always a convenient cop-out.

This would be the wrong attitude to take because there ARE things we can all do, every one of us - Remember that the world starts with YOU. Yes, you can. Every little helps. So here is a quick list of concrete, realistic, feasible resolutions I came up with.

WE CAN ALL DO SOMETHING AT OUR INDIVIDUAL LEVEL

PRACTICAL MEASURES TO FIGHT THE EARTH'S DESTRUCTION

WHENEVER POSSIBLE...*

Go vegetarian.

Buy fewer clothes (clothes production is one of the most polluting activities on Earth). Wear yours as long as you can. Don't change your mobile phone frequently. Recycle.

Do less laundry (it's equally very polluting) - and not for single items.

Recycle.

Take the stairs, not the lift. Walk or cycle whenever you can.

Go vegetarian.

Reduce your avocado and chocolate consumption (yes, :-((( ): producing these uses up huge quantities of water.

Buy local products.

Use public transport; carpool. Take the plane as seldom as possible, and just for travel that would be impossible otherwise.

Don't keep engines running / idling. Switch off the light, turn off the tap, use air conditioning as little as possible. Unplug electrical appliances when not in use.

Write fewer emails. These burn up energy too.

Go vegetarian.

Eat smaller portions - don't waste food.

Use washable, recyclable glass bottles – not plastic ones.

Plant something (a tree, flowers, a plant...).

Buy second-hand. Don't support the soul sapping, self-defeating, and ultimately senseless drive to produce ever more. THERE IS NO PLANET B.

*Yes, I know the inevitable reply: "But, but, with me it's different (I can't do this or that in my position)..."

Also:

Ban cruise ships and bitcoin – they are monumentally polluting.

Close down golf courses. Only wankers play golf anyway.

100 Practical Ways to Reverse Climate Change (nationalgeographic.com)

a quick piece on The Ladyboys of Bangkok with regards to the current tour

 

                                                         (please note: unofficial artwork)

Born in 1998 in Edinburgh and applauded by -estimates vary- a hefty couple of millions of spectators already, The Ladyboys of Bangkok have carved themselves a unique place between cabaret, burlesque and musical.

Each year brings a new theme, around which the show riffs, builds on, ducks and weaves, plays with, and generally subverts. This year (or rather last – see explanation later) is no exception: it's called 'Flights of Fancy' -geddit?????- and proposes dance numbers based around the idea of taking a trip “to paradise” (as the opening song by the Pet Shop Boys goes). And so it starts with your air hostess -not to be confused with a Trolley Dolly hell no- taking you through the pants wetting procedure.

                                                    (please note: unofficial artwork)

The show, which involves a dozen dancers, comprises about a couple dozen songs and features -if I remember correctly- some four hundred costumes, lasting nearly two hours divided in the middle by a ten minute break. Pretty much like a football match, then (easy confusion to make).

What with that COVID thing, contact with the stars of the show is now prohibited – meaning there are no longer go-go girls -or boys- dancing in the middle of the audience and you can't have your photo taken with your favourite anymore – a practice anyone who has ever been to Thailand will recognise. 

This year's show is, in effect, last year's - the 2020 tour having been understandably cancelled.

                                            (please note: unofficial artwork)

Aficionados of double-entendres, risqué-but-not-quite dance routines, pearl clutching, fishnet stockings, fatal misunderstandings and strategically placed tassels will feel right at home. But this does not make it a specific / target audience: whole families -over eighteen though- flock to see it. Plus a huge majority of women, stag nights, birthday nights out, gym bunnies, couples in search of inspiration, straight, gay, inbetween, tourists, dance students, as well as occasional Thai nationals (I can still remember a venerable grandmother being saluted onstage).

Musical genres covered: not just current hits like Rihanna Beyonce et al, but also oldies-but-goldies (like 'Grease'), rock (like Queen) or film musicals (like 'The Sound of Music' or 'Moulin Rouge'). I have yet to see them perform to the sound of Extreme Noise Terror or Godspeed You! Black Emperorrr but I live in hope.

                                          (please note: unofficial artwork)

Finally, I would like to make a point about the performers' genuine professionalism. Should you ever attend the show several times in a row, you will be impressed by how well rehearsed they are, hitting the exact same spots / poses every time. I have also seen them perform in front of about fifteen people in the middle of a midweek afternoon and they gave it their all regardless. Compare and contrast with rock bands eh...

Verdict: put your seatbelt on, turbulences ahoy!