Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Back to the Future, to the Present?

In a few short hours, it will become October 21st, 2015. To those who are extremely sheltered and have horrible taste in movies, that just means it's Hump Day. To people who have experienced life, it is the day Marty McFly arrives in the future. 

This is a big deal. A movie that came out in 1989 (keep in mind I'm talking Back to the Future II here since Marty only went in the past in the first one) made some bold predictions about what life would be like in 2015, which is kind of hard to do. All in all, it seemed like a decent enough world. Jaws 19 was in theaters, we had hoverboards and the Cubs were winning the World Series.

Wait, what?

Is it a prophecy or a coincidence that the Chicago Cubs are in the NLCS for the first time in 12 years? Making the final four in a year where not much was expected from this team is weird enough, but in the year that Back to the Future II predicted?  Eerie. I'm sure at that time people would say "but there isn't a Miami team they could beat". Well, they're partially right, when the movie came out there was no Miami team, but the Florida Marlins came into existence a few years later, and in 2012 changed their name to the Miami Marlins, which is a team the Cubs beat a few times in the regular season, so there!  Things aren't looking too pretty for the Cubbies right now in this series, but anything can happen. I wonder how many people bet money on this team winning their first World Series since 1908 solely cause of the movie?

As for hoverboards, I have had a sneaky suspicion that someone has already created one, say 6-7 years ago and has just been waiting to unveil it on this exact day. Is this probable? Absolutely not. Would it be sweet? Absolutely, yes.  For now, we can settle for those hands-free Segway scooter things that people call hoverboards for lack of a better term (and wishful thinking). As sweet as this would be, flying cars would still be a better form of transportation. 



Another disappointment is the lack of Jaws movies. A measly 4 have been made from 1975-1987. There was plenty of time to make another 15 of these just so another prophecy could be made. It's even more frustrating now due to the overwhelming amount of sequels, prequels and remakes of movies that already haunt the box offices.  At least Hollywood could've done something worthwhile with a bunch of Jaws sequels. What a waste. 


Lastly, tomorrow marks a big day as I am one of 26 thousand people who joined the Facebook event "The Day Marty McFly Arrives From The Past!"  This was one of the first things I joined when I made my Facebook (2008, I think?) and it is kind of mind-blowing to me that the wait is finally over. The other part that is mind-blowing? The event page here says there are 3,100 people who are "Maybe" attending this event. It's not like they have a choice.  Who the hell would say 'maybe' to a thing like that? God, the world is a scary place. 


Tomorrow will be cool, so pull out your puffy vests, double ties, and self-tying Nikes.  Be prepared to unveil your hoverboard blueprints that you've been storing all these years and to get ready if you run into a kook named Doc Brown.  Hey, wait a minute, why did they never explain how Marty, a high school kid, becomes best friends with an elderly scientist who is being chased by terrorists? Maybe we'll find out tomorrow!