The year "2001" passed a ways back, most of us agree, and the vision of Kubrick's namesake film prior to the celebrated space freak-out didn't quite line up with what was seen either side of one's front door. Not only was/is there not commercial space travel but the carrier depicted hardly made the trip. And never mind the phone station, the charge at the end being yet another matter.

The vision of Hal the computer superficially seems of an age farther away than a trip to Jupiter; his red eye(s) may have been an actual cutting edge technology for all of a week late in the 90's. But in a, pun maybe intended, space in which I get a few of my ideas, the indoor bicycling class, it occurred to me the deadpan voice, relentless in its reinforcement of beliefs which never will change as surely as it remains pitch bland, is very much a part of the scene. It comes back to me uttering various social and political bromides:

"The Shah was our friend."

"We didn't go to war over oil."

"Colonialism was good for those people; consider the results of communism."

"So, Dan, are other people supposed to adhere to your opinions?"

"Yes, I find the comic Bruce Quack very relevant. But I'll read 'Doonesbury' to get the liberal side."

"That knuckle dragging aspirant to the occupation of sniper in the bell tower has every right to his opinion."

"There are CEO's I don't like. Now back to 'down with the public sector'."

"You live in the conditions of South Boston and then see if you condemn those young Irish-American men."

"How's your perfect brother doing?"

"No one just just put you down."

"Hello, friend, have you heard the good news of Jesus Christ?"

"Okay, Gent, we got it a long time ago."