[Matt Savinar]

Escape from L.A. should be on that list.

The plot in Escape from N.Y., involves a terrorist group hijacking a jetliner and flying it into a tower in New York. The movie ends with Kurt Russel's character tearing up a cassette tape that contains information necessary to avert a nuclear war.

The plot from Escape from LA involves a terrorist group led by a charismatic bearded guy intent on attacking the US and destroying its energy supply. The movie ends with Kurt Russel's character instituting a worldwide, permanent blackout.

Right before he does so, one of the bad guys implores him, "Don't do it. You'll wipe out civilization. All of our progress of the past 500 years will vanish."

And if that wasn't weird enough, the president is a hard core right wing christian, the US is a police state, and all Muslims have been deported.

Don't think it could get much more "peaky" than that.

Matt

[Pops]

Peaky?

Grapes of Wrath (which parallels my family’s own Peak Oil Story)

This may be weird but the end of Terminator as the cute gal seems to be looking into the future and thinking about all the things she needs to teach her unborn child, I feel the same except I don't have morning sickness.

And this from Carrie - Carrie is her handle on this site, not the King movie of the same name. She hasn’t written in a while but I loved this post:

Anyone watch "Three Days of the Condor", the 1975 movie? That involved a plot to invade the Middle East for the oil. Remember what Higgins, the CIA guy, said at the end of it?

Quote:
Turner: Boy, what is it with you people? You think not getting caught in a lie is the same thing as telling the truth?

Higgins: No. It's simple economics. Today, it's oil, right? In ten or fifteen years... food. Plutonium. And maybe even sooner. Now, what do you think the people are gonna want us to do then?

Turner: Ask them.

Higgins: Not now. Then. Ask them when they're running out. Ask them when there's no heat in their homes and they're cold. Ask them when their engines stop. Ask them when people who've never known hunger start going hungry. You wanna know something? They won't want us to ask them. They'll just want us to get it for them.


I think of that ending a lot these days.

-- Carrie"

[Chicagoan]

I am somewhat of a Trekie, but I have noticed that the civilization depicted in "First Contact" appears to be way post-peak. There was a nuclear war, presumably over the final reserves, and the government had collapsed. Zephram Cochraine built his warp ship out of an abandoned nuclear missile and got the Vulcans' attention. The Vulcans save the day.

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER

[The_Virginian]

funny, before seeing this post, I voted for the "escape from LA" option.

I always wondered where they got the fuel (or crude in MMII) to drive in the post apocolyptic Mad max Movies, so the "escape" series seemed the most realistic. "Beyond Thunderdom"is an exception.


As for "days of the condor" I remember reading that Nixon did have a plan for invading the ME, it was shelved when the embargo was lifted.

[mainster]

The main media channels (how we say the world) is controlled by a small elite. The elite have entrapped humanity in this "matrix" of diinformation and lies. We get to choose candidates to rule us who are mostly puppets for that same group working behind the scenes, "the shadow government". This group full well know the long term consequences of their actions but view it as a perfect opportunity to even more totally enslave humanity. A few freedomfighters have "broken out", using the as of yet less controlled Internet and are spreading the word, trying to free more and more minds from the brainwashing and mindless consumption mindset, to become awake and aware of what is really going on outside "the matrix". The more you think of it the more the duality of the matrix world perfectly reflects our current world view and situation.
In the end the elite aspire to once again live off the pure human musclepower. Back to slavery, but this time on a global scale, perhaps enslaving 99% of the remaining global population (like the human "battery" analogy). Truly a "New World Order".
Free your mind!

Who is our "chosen one", our Neo?

[OilBurner]

You've been watching the Matrix far too much.

Seriously, it isn't real and it doesn't make a good back up for what you're saying.

Go on, present some good evidence for what you're saying.

--
Feeling grumpy as it's raining outside and I'm trying to wean myself off caffine and TV!!

[k_semler]

Feeling grumpy as it's raining outside and I'm trying to wean myself off caffeine and TV!!

Cant help you with the rain, but substituting very cold water for caffeinated products seems to ease the transition, and the advantage to this is that you will be more hydrated by substituting cold water then you possibly have been at any point in your life. I did this for a while, and I drank up to 1.5 gallons of water per day. I went to the bathroom every half hour, but I was plenty hydrated.

For TV, I have found that AM radio fills that void. Right now, I am listening to KQQQ and Coast to Coast AM is now on. This show is a repeat from the one that was on 4 hours ago, but that's fine with me. Since I have reduced my TV viewing habits to less than 2 hrs per week, I have found that I listen to the radio at least 50 hours per week, if not more. An advantage to AM radio is that you can do virtually anything while listening to the radio, while if you are watching TV, you pretty much have to do nothing besides watch TV. Activity is very difficult if you want to pay attention to a television program, but with a radio broadcast, it is very easy to get all your news and entertainment while engaged in other tasks. I listen to the radio every second while I am at work, during the drive home, and for about 4 hours after I get home. That equates to about 14 hours a day of AM radio. I get quite a lot done, and I highly doubt I could maintain the same level of productivity if I were to watch 14 hours of TV per day.

Also, going cold turkey on the TV is the best way to do it. I remember when I curtailed my normal viewing habits, I was actually disturbed that I was missing my favorite TV show. At that time, the show I absolutely loved was "Becker" on FOX. I also watched "Just Shoot Me", and "Third Rock From the Sun" every night. After about a week, TV was no big deal. Now, the only show I watch is the Sunday episode of "The Simpsons", and "Arrested Development". These are the only 2 shows I watch in the course of a normal week. Once in a while, I will also watch "Malcom in the Middle", but not very often. Now, I could honestly give a crap less if I see these TV programs or not. If I happen to see them, that is good. If I happen to miss them, I do not care.

[JayHMorrison]

This group full well know the long term consequences of their actions but view it as a perfect opportunity to even more totally enslave humanity.

I always find it funny when people mention the "elites" who are trying to take over the world.

I have news for you. They are not trying to take over. They are already running the world. Isn't it funny that both candidates for president are members of the Yale society Skull & Bones?

The funniest thing is that they "Think" they are running things. In reality, they are just allowed to run things by the billionaires of this country.

Now if those guys ever get ticked off, watch out. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet could likely overthrow the gov't with just the money from an rounding error in their bank accounts. You sort of see what might happen. Look at George Soros. He is a billionaire that is funding the group MoveOn.org. I think he has invested about $20 million so far in getting rid of George Bush.

The elites would not risk the current level of power they have by intentionally upsetting the apple cart. They would have no idea what would emerge from the rubble.

[OilBurner]

Cant help you with the rain, but substituting very cold water for caffeinated products seems to ease the transition, and the advantage to this is that you will be more hydrated by substituting cold water then you possibly have been at any point in your life. I did this for a while, and I drank up to 1.5 gallons of water per day. I went to the bathroom every half hour, but I was plenty hydrated.

For TV, I have found that AM radio fills that void. Right now, I am listening to KQQQ and Coast to Coast AM is now on.

Thanks for the advice, I do try to drink a lot of water, but when the tiredness hits (probably from staying up last to watch silly reality TV shows...) than caffine seems to be the only cure! A sorry state of affairs, I don't deny!
I've been trying to listen to Radio 4 here in the UK, the popular radio stations are just so mindless. Great for good music (sometimes!) but the inane drivel between songs is just mindnumbing. Radio 4 is more news and analysis, not always high quality, but certainly not low-brow.

[PhilBiker]

I need to pull out my copy of "Escape From L.A." and watch it again. I remember that Bruce Campbell one of my favoroite actors has a great cameo in it. It was really over the top and sumb right? Just my style.

[pip]

I always wondered where they got the fuel (or crude in MMII) to drive in the post apocolyptic Mad max Movies, so the "escape" series seemed the most realistic. "Beyond Thunderdom"is an exception.

Mad Max with a 10 speed = not nearly as cool

[Guest]

Mad Max with a 10 speed = not nearly as cool

Ah, but where would they get spare tires from?

[Guest]

Pip:

Yeah, it was very dumb. The first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes are the only saving graces.

I'd give it 2 out of 4 stars only because of the beginning and ending. Otherwise, it gets 1.

The plastic surgery freak colony living in Beverly Hills was pretty damn funny, though. Mostly because you see a lot of stars who don't look that different then the freaks in the movie.

Matt

[Webster Hubble Telescope]

Best scientific role model in a movie dealing with energy:

Elisabeth Shue in The Saint playing a fusion chemist.

http://mobjectivist.blogspot.com/2004/06/fictional-science-role-models.html

And I do consider Road Warrior one of the all-time great action movies. Dune also has good allegorical context.

[Carrie]

Here's a chronology of the Mad Max movies that someone tried to put together:

http://www.zip.com.au/~alexm/madmax/mchron.html

The writer did a good job of describing what was going on in the world of Mad Max at the time. He partly based it on info in the novelizations & partly his "own speculation", but it's an interesting read.

-- Carrie

[OilBurner]

Hi Leaf! Good to see you back already!

Read the summary of Threads - I think that concurs with what people have speculated on here in most die off scenerios. I truly hope life never turns out like that.

[rowante]

A friend and I have been thinking of remaking MMII, but with tiny japanese fuel efficient cars... Any investors interested?

[Webster Hubble Telescope]

Remember, the GyroMan in MMII was flying what appeared to be a very efficient aerial vehicle.