The 85th strikes me as rather ordinary in comparison to the celebratory 50th anniversary edition.
The 50th anniversary issue is etched in my memory. When it came out in 1984, it was a thick, fat issue loaded with goodness: 266 pages of dense type and photos compared to 98 of more loosely spaced text and photos in the 85th. I'd forgotten to buy a 50th when it first hit the news stands, but did eventually get one before they were gone. A few days later I had to go on a business trip with my boss to Dayton, Ohio. I took the 50th with me to read. On the trip back I flew on some regional carrier that went bankrupt long ago. It was two hops back home, and I had to change planes somewhere in Pennsylvania. It was winter, and from my seat in the terminal I watched the baggage vehicle race with the luggage from one plane to the other. It made a tight turn at speed and a stack of luggage fell off a trailer onto the snowy tarmac. I wasn't sure if all the luggage was recovered because my flight was called and I had to go. I got to Toronto, but my luggage didn't. I was upset because I had to put my 50th MR in my luggage. Aaargh! I didn't care about my clothes, only about losing the 50th :-) Well, there was a happy ending: late the next day the airline found my bag, and delivered it by courier to the house. Clothes and 50th were intact. Crisis adverted :-)
So, I've been walking down memory lane with the 50th. Some things are striking. Take this prediction by Russ Larson, one time editor of MR, on page 169,
Publishing 2008-2033: Electronic medium becomes dominant; Print medium becomes obsolete.
Great stories, great photos. I hope MR makes it to 90. But, I have a feeling that Mr. Larson's prediction is going to come to full fruition and video will displace the print edition by then, and MR is heavily promoting video subscriptions. Only time will tell. If I'm still here in the blog-o-sphere in 5 years, we'll touch base on this :-)
I remember the 50th. Fat goodness indeed! Your post reminded me of the sweet anticipation I had when I'd get home from school and check the mailbox to see if my issue of MR had come.
ReplyDeleteI'll add my predictions to the table - in 2040, neural implants allow instantaneous access to all human knowledge on the net. Close your eyes and read, or use a proxy blank page on which your mind projects the images and words. The virtual modeler steps out of the shadows into the mainstream.
OR - the dark, dystopian version, - 2040, humanity struggles through the ongoing climate catastrophe. While many of the great libraries have burned and the internet is long gone, isolated islands of knowledge are safeguarded. Despite this, model building thrives as creativity and imagination are once again set free from the shackles of media over-stimulation.
Happy (late) Boxing Day!
If there is any sort of model building still going on in 2040 I hope I can still recognize it as such. In the 80th there's a construction article about a resin kit where the writer notes the need to wear goggles, nitrile gloves, and a respirator while working on it. I'm not questioning the need for such, and no doubt it's excellent safety advice, just that it seems weird to require that level of safety equipment for what can be a pleasant activity that one could do at the kitchen table without much concern about any long term health affects - but maybe in 2040 there won't be kitchen tables either :-)
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