What with graduation, climate change  and the state budget, there’s been a lot of talk about the future. OK, make it The Future, kind of like Detroit, a place we might want to visit someday, except shinier and with jetpacks. At graduation ceremonies, you heard a lot of talk about where we go next. That would be The Future, kids.

Meanwhile, the Alaska Legislature has been making its own future by dragging out the present as it goes into double-triple overtime trying to pass a budget. 

In the Betster’s civilian life, Yours Truly hangs with a lot of science fiction writers. This is what comes from a corrupt childhood reading Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Ursula Le Guin and Damon Knight. Science fiction writers like to say they imagine the future. They’re not too accurate about prophesizing it, though. Did anyone predict Post-It notes? There you go.

As the writer Frederik Pohl said, what science fiction writers can do is examine the futures we’re making to see if we want to live there. Given the current trend in young adult dystopian fiction, the future doesn’t seem too bright unless you’re a little odd and have great hair and cool clothes.

Here’s the thing about The Future. Like life, it’s what happens when you make other plans. Right now, in this very moment, you live in The Present. The Present has vestiges of The Past, because that was just seconds ago, but as The Present ticks along, The Future becomes The Present. It all blurs together if you think about it too much. 

Years ago the Betster went to a World’s Fair once which had a Futurama or something like that. They got it all wrong. The Betster really, really wanted a bubble-top Cadillac with fins. What I got was a late-model Subaru with heated seats. There are many other things the Betster did not imagine, starting with living in Alaska.

The Future is like roaring down a river. You want to stay in the middle, don’t hit rocks and keep your head above water. So embrace the future that happens daily, and what better way than with these Best Bets?

 

BEST GET WET BET: “Watermark” is about, well, water. It’s the new show by artists Asia Freeman and Michael Walsh. Since Freeman also runs Bunnell Street Arts Center, which has a First Friday show opening, their show opens today at 5 p.m. with a reception at the Pratt Museum. You can see the show on Friday, too, with museum hours open until 7 p.m.

 

BEST YEE HAH! BET: That’s the Betster’s cry of glee for an awesome array of art opening Friday. Whether new venues like Homeric Traders or the usual Pioneer Avenue and Old Town galleries, we have some might fine art on display. See the story, page 10.

 

BEST BE WARNED BET: The annual Homer Garden Club Plant Sale doesn’t need much promotion, so the Betster will only remind you to get in line early for the best pick of plants. They’ll go fast, so be there before 11 a.m. Saturday at the Homer Chamber of Commerce.

 

BEST GO MARY GO BET: If you love art, every day is Mary Epperson Day, but on Saturday, it’s her official day. Celebrate the woman who put her mark on art from music to theater from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Homer Council on the Arts. It’s also volunteer appreciation, too.

 

BEST ON THE BEACH BET: What does it mean to live in a coastal community? How does living by the shore affect us? Those are some of the questions Emily Johnson asks for “Shore,” her art project starting next week. The performance piece starts at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Bunnell Street Arts Center with readings by local writers. See bunnellarts.org for more information.