July 2007
Episode VII - Summer
Hello All:
Sorry it took me so long to get back here. I have been plenty busy upon my return to the midwest. I hope you all have been well. I am working hard at that and will let you know about it. Or not. Let's not dwell and get this edition started, shall we?:
:[ My item on "Casting Dispersions" from last month:
My New Presidential Campaign Manger, Rajeev Chopra Wrote, Casting doesn’t mean distributing. Disperse maybe, but not casting. Casting is tossing something out there, not spreading it around. Like casting when you fish or, I suppose, casting when you are looking to staff a production.
I did a little reading, and apparently it’s got a really interesting origin. Not sure how reliable this source is, but I love the explanation.
:[ Rajeev Chopra, my Campaign Manager also adds; As campaign manager, I strongly recommend retracting your previous statement and using this opportunity to demonstrate leadership by engaging the electorate in the process of determining the best, commonly understood definition of this phrase. And then you can buck the trend and go with another definition to prove you are a man of conviction and character.
I say: Yes, do that.
:[ Views from the bus: I took a bus back to Illinois this last time and I was reminded of why I vowed to never ride a bus anywhere again. But I had to come home.Here are some of the observations I made during the 1,800 mile trip:
-The major thing I hate about buses is the small area for tall people. It is so difficult to stretch out. Especially for a tall goon such as myself.
-Also on the way I had to pass through St. Loius. Now, being a fair-weather Rams fan I was pretty excited. We drove right past their stadium. Pretty cool. I'll post the photographic evidence that I was there later on.
-I always dislike the crazy guys that get on from time to time. The one person that talks to loud to himself and make a general bother. The guy we picked up in Kansas City claimed to be the son of Al Green. Not to mention the legitimate father of Usher AND Christina Aguilera!
-Another thing that really, really, really, really bugs me are the impatient people that are always giving the driver a hard time. If they wanted to get there faster, catch a plane morons! On the final stretch, we had this European-Slav driver, tiny slip of a fella with a heavy "uppah-vest-side" accent. Very nice, courteous man. But we also got this crazed Middle Eastern man who yelled and screamed at some African-Americans in the back of the bus. (Now, this ME guy does not reflect all ME people, but he was a bit scary because he kept muttering to himself about dying and being killed and that we should "just pull the trigger", scary.) They had this argument thing going for about a hundred miles or so, the ME getting so loud that the folks in the back would react to him. Finally, this little, European bus driver had to shout them all down and move the ME man to the front so as to not bother the folks in the back. Poor guy, (I mean the Bus Driver) got it from the folks in the bus for not going fast enough or whatever. He was calm and cool about it all. (He had cool David Bowie eyes too. One was brown and the other blue.) I dislike impatient people on the bus. I wish everyone would just shut up and leave me alone.
-In a bus station in Kansas I caught the last 20 minutes or so, of an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger. Let me tell you, it played like a Conservative Manifesto: They never got warrants, they tortured suspects until they gave the answers Walker wanted, they never thought twice about killing the same suspects after he served his purpose, Walker, and his boy, even kill the bad guy they are chasing without a trial or jury, or even an arrest!. And every time I come across the show while channel-surfing, that woman of his is either kid-napped, or in the hospital, and Walker needs to race against time, doing these very same investigative tactics to save her.
Yeah, Walker, you are such a d!ck.
:[ My new movie heroes; in addition to Kenneth Branagh, George Lucas and Robert Rodriguez, I now add:
Orson Welles - For his way of dealing with the "Experts" in art. He says in "F for Fake" that the experts are the biggest fakers.
Bruce Lee - For his adherence to a idealistic goal of an accurate, contemporary portrayal of Chinese people in movies. You can blabber all you want about the circumstances of his early death, from what chemicals were found in his body to whose house he was found in, it all only serves to diminish his greatness. But his belief that we can come to accept accurate, realistic, contemporary portrayals of Asian people is what I will always remember him for. He was a true crusader in this. A real inspiration in my own journey towards a contemporary depiction of Native Americans.
Elvis Presley - For his missed chance to star as the lead actor in the 70's remake of "A Star is Born". It really could have been his "From Here to Eternity" and we would have taken him seriously as an actor. He just needed that chance. Maybe he would have had a whole other career. And he would have been still among us.
:[ Speaking of Elvis, "Me and a Guy Named Elvis" by Jerry Schilling. This is probably the best Elvis biography I have ever read. And I have read, well, um, ...just his one, I guess. I truly recommend this book.
:[ In addition to the double-bill suggestions of Hero/Le Samourai & Big Lebowski/Brick, let me add to that: F for Fake/Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey
:[ Movie review: Pirates of the Caribbean 3 At World’s End: I really did enjoy the closing chapter of this trilogy. Too many people say that it has too open of an ending or endings. I thought it was a good denouement. Too many people look on these third parts to be the be all end all of cinema. I was kind of glad at how they tied everything up while giving the main characters destinies, of a sort.
Rather sad that Chow Yun-Fat was killed off so quickly, and that they gave the bad guy the best death. But overall, I thought it a fun romp. Arrrr.
:[ Have you seen the new slew of VISA Credit Card Commercials? How dare you not conform to a credit card society! What the hell is "fast" money? Does that mean how fast it is taken from you? Paying cash is suddenly holding up societies’ evolution for being too slow. Hell, writing checks? Well, ...fuck YOU!
:[ Ghost in the Shell Series - Season Two
Reflections on the Strong Female Character:
I was really beginning to enjoy this new take on an old favorite anime movie of mine. I really liked the characters and how they evolve as characters and develop back stories and nuances. The first season was pretty good. It had an overll season-long story arc, even when an episode looked like it stood alone, it was revealed to be a part of the overall story arc. Pretty cool.
Then, the second season started. When her team and her are waiting for the go-ahead on a mission she tells them that they could waste time by "going to a nudie bar". They altered Kusanagi’s sexuality a bit. You know, to make her some sort of a fluke, so male manga watchers can dismiss her as a strong woman and dream of her bumping uglies with another disproportionately-drawn gal, who is not real.
Read my reflection on the treatment of Strong Women in Movies, COMING SOON on my new blog: The Redshade Report.
:[ Watching "Who Killed the Electric Car" I got really pissed off and could not finish watching it. You all know why.
:[ The Rise of Geek Chic, or, "Why does everyone dress like Mortimer Nerdly-esque Hobos?"
You see them in the bookstores and record shops, hoodies that are too small, thick, black-framed glasses, dyed hair, piercings, plaid shirts or suit jackets, sneakers that look old, or old fashion dress shoes, baggy jeans or too tight jeans, or maybe, plaid pants, you know, that nerdly looking stuff. They reek of patchouli.
Why do they have act like they are somehow outside or on the fringe of things when their entire wardrobe and how they present themselves is a mere construct designed to look like they are on the outside or on the fringe? Jerks.
I myself dress to be comfortable. I sometimes wear jeans designed after mariachi pants with a Native twist. I wear a NATIVE PRIDE cap because it scares people. But I never considered myself on the fringe or outside the mainstream. I mean, these same kids will pull out the cellphones and iPods and drink their Chi ice coffees same as you or me. How anti-corporate is that, really?
Anyways, that will do it for now. I am back in Skokie, so give me a ring or stop by to visit. Leave a comment or question. Visit the Presidential Campaign Page and vote for me in 2008. I very am interested in seeing how far I can go with this. Help me.
Until next time; "At my meetings, I always serve refreshments."
