The Sky Crawlers: I don't wanna grow up

The Sky Crawlers: Snap roll straight into firing position

If you haven't heard already, Mamoru Oshii has a message for you. You who are young and middle/upper class, who are Generation Y, the Echo Boomers. You who live in the Western, and even not-so-Western, industrialized nations. You who pay the minimum on your credit card balance and don't mind 19.99% APR or higher, so long as you have whatever your Facebook friends have.

The world is a wonderful place, so get out there and appreciate the ordinary. Digitize it to 12-bit precision with that new DSLR. Also, watch 5 Centimeters Per Second, Aria and read BoingBoing.

Certainly it's an idea I could subscribe to — BB is on my feed reader, after all — but I don't, because even BB occasionally needs a Unicorn Chaser. I am also subscribed to a running commentary on the train wreck of the century (thus far), and it doesn't involve Sunrise.

Just saying, so y'all know where I stand on this "It's a Wonderful World" theme. Or don't stand.

Y'all should also know that there is another message. Well, maybe it's more of an acknowledgement of what the world is really like, concerning the conflict between the youth who think they can live forever and those who have seen it all.

Youth is not as immortal as they hype themselves up to be (surprise!). To modify a passage from The Modern Traveller to sum up the battle(s) between The Teacher and pretty much everyone else:

Whatever happens, we have got
IDDQD, and they have not.

Sky Crawlers, mirroring the world we live in, reflecting back the more negative machinations that keep the planet turning. Feel free to replace "IDDQD" with your choice of

  • power overwhelming
  • Government bailouts
  • A non-sanctioned nuclear weapons program
  • Tanks (vs students)
  • An undervalued currency
  • THE reserve currency (oh ho!)
  • $760B in US treasuries (wait, this might actually be a liability)
  • An automated equity trading program
  • Industry lobbyists
  • Lawyers
  • The ability to shut down SMS before an election
  • The Mickey Mouse Protection Act
  • MONEY

Suito getting drunk

About time for a Unicorn Chaser, no? I certainly felt so after seeing The Man The Teacher take kids to school. The irony is that there is nothing to teach, because you learn nothing by running away, but by not running away you die. And on the momentous occasion that the rules are broken, the system will happily appoint The New Teacher in place of The Newly Deceased Teacher, and the meat grinder carries on with nary a hiccup.

Maybe you could topple The Teacher in combat, but you could never hope to topple The Teacher's boss. Maybe we should call those people The Principals, who answer to The Board (of Directors), who answer to The Ministry, and on it goes.

In some places (could be yours), this giant pyramid of power has cut us a deal: We'll give you a sandbox. Please play in it, be content. Or else. Oh, and spend your cash money. Failing that, spend your borrowed money.

Hey, it largely works for the Kildren, engineered as they are. And it largely works for us, too, engineered as we are, just not in the same way. The world is indeed wonderful, insofar as the world does not extend to one of those temporary garbage dumps, or the CUPE Local 416 picket lines. And as long as I don't rock the system/boat/gondola, I won't be thrown off of it.

P.S.

"I'm just a Toys 'R' Us kid" is how I always remembered it, probably because it flows a bit better.

"Your borrowed money" is such an oxymoron, but is it really an oxymoron if everyone does it?