Tag Archives: history

The reality of science fiction

Posted by admin on November 26, 2010 No comments

Lately I’ve found myself gravitating towards two genres for my entertainment. In books, I’ve been sticking with history; for A/V it’s been science fiction. On the surface, it may seem an odd combination, but they really do coexist quite well. History is of course the detailing of what has happened in the past. Science fiction details what is possible in the future.  While the argument could be made that some science fiction is just too fantastical to ever happen, let me remind you. Much of our modern technologies and conveniences today would be just as fantastical to our ancestors.

I bring this up as the immersion in history has led me to do some reflecting; no pun intended. The books I have been reading cover various topics and events, but all span events taking place 50-250 years ago. Once I finished a few books, I began to see the bigger picture of humanity,  and I’ve seen the same things over and over again. Discrimination, racism, cruelty, selfishness, egotism, bias, religious extremism, emphasis on material possession, actions that help the rich get richer and the poor stay poor.  All traits I see exist today in one form or another.

Which brings me to the sci-fi. One show that I am a fan is Battlestar Galactica. The plot, which is a simplistic description for these purposes, is of battle between a human race and a fleet of robotic beings. Over the course of the show, the humans learn their war with robots is nothing new, and in fact the human race has had a few life cycles already. The following dialogue from the show sums it up pretty well,  ”All of this that has happened, will happen again.” Gee, where have I experienced that feeling before?

I admit, it’s a pretty depressing thought. I’m not so naive to consider a Utopian society as an attainable goal, but is general harmony too much to ask? Why hurl insults or bombs at that stranger different from you, when all they want to do is live their life in peace? How can we as a civilization better ourselves when we’ve doomed ourselves to repeat the same ideas over and over? What’s the point of it all?

Battlestar Galactica addresses that question with an enigmatic answer; “In a system so complex, something different is bound to happen next time.” I’m not a religious person, but to me that smacks of reincarnation. Yes, we are compelled for one reason or another to repeat the same actions over and over again without the foresight to learn from our past mistakes. Yet, each time doesn’t seem to be quite as bad the last, which still gives us something to strive for.

Here’s hoping.

The White Elephant

Posted by buffalochick on February 3, 2010 No comments

For many years now I’ve been in the hobby of Urban Exploration, if you don’t know what that is, hit the link and start reading.  I don’t actively explore anymore, but the history of buildings will always intrigue me.   Case in point: Anyone that’s been to Niagara Falls, NY has seen this building that doesn’t seem to blend with the surrounding structures:

The main level houses a low-budget food court and gift shop, the rest of the building is vacant and shady-looking, so much so that I was pretty well convinced illegal groups were involved in some manner. It’s location of being right off the Rainbow Bridge and two blocks from the casino is as ideal as one can be for a tourist-heavy area.  Yet its history has always been troubled.

Constructed in 1982 for the Occidental Chemical Corporation, it was mostly empty by 1989 and sold in 1999. In theory, it was one of the most energy efficient buildings being constructed at the time:

An all-glass exterior opposed conventional wisdom, which then held that energy economies could only be achieved by reducing the proportion of glazed surface. Between two glass walls forming the building skin, automatically controlled louvers transform the building shell from fully transparent during occupied hours to a fully opaque, insulated condition during unoccupied periods. The louvers allow extensive use of daylight through excellent diffusion of sunlight; and at the same time, provide outstanding heat shielding of the interior through near-perfect solar shading. In addition, the four-foot space between the glass is vented at all floors, creating a continuous thermal chimney around the building perimeter. By controlling air movement within the vented space, heat is collected or purged, depending on building demand.

The reality however, claims the building was over-engineered and somewhat inefficient. Too cold in winter, hot in summer, with different floors having disparate temperatures. It had louvers that followed the sun, closing in summer sunlight, opening in winter sunlight, with double glass skin to control the heat. It goes without saying however, that the many years of inadequate management have left these technologies in disrepair. It was around 2006 the louvers were removed.

Given the poor and recessionary pall of Niagara Falls in general and the non-capacity history of the building, it’s doubtful One Niagara will ever really see it’s true potential, which I guess allows those who manage the property to run wild with creative uses:

In the five years since Frank R. Parlato Jr. has controlled the building, he has floated several unusual ideas for the site—including running the building for a short time on cooking oil and threatening to operate slot machines on its ninth floor.

All in all, is still in better shape than most, and couldn’t be in a better location for all forms of traffic. It is a shame that due to conflicting opinions of the city and property owners, the building just goes to waste.