Wisdom of the Sages
Episode XII
December - Winter 2007
Hello All;
So another year has come and gone. So much for the fountains of youth. I hope all of you are doing well in all this icy weather or however the weather is in your area. I hope your holidays were good ones. So, let’s get this Year End Edition off the ground shall we?
Off with the horns, on with the show:
:[ The temperature drops quickly and the sleet falls in heavy blankets. I am stuck walking the icy streets, every so often my shoes slip out from under me, I catch my balance. Now, every driver in Skokie and Chicago see a great, big Indian guy walking down the streets, every once in a while doing "Fosse Hands!" as I struggle to catch my balance as I amble up the icy pavement.
Then, just like that it’s gone. All melted in one day. We had hoped to sled on Christmas but the snow just did not stick around. Maybe next year. As of this posting, it is snowing again like mad.
:[ It seems the Christmas Season is starting earlier every year. Soon, we will be endlessly shopping for that new gift all year around.
:[ Long Way Round - DVD
This British reality series is a lot more credible that most US offerings. Mainly because it does not pretend to be anything more than a pair of actors indulging an adventurous whim. What gets you through the first episode is the charm of the two actors; Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor.
The real drama comes when they are stuck in both Mongolia and Russia’s infamous "Road of Bones". I found the series to be a nice journey and the two actors are charming and aware of their own fallibility. It also made me want to journey somewhere on a motorcycle. Who’s up for that? I don’t know how to drive one but that will be part of the drama.
:[THE SHOSHONI CONNECTION UPDATE:
Coming soon to the Redshade Productions’ MySpace Blogs! I am going to update the Redshade Productions MySpace blog about my journey towards getting this movie made. I have decided I will not make any other features until this one is out of my system.
So in addition to Wisdom of the Sages, WOS Reviews, the Redshade Report, the FNFVF website, the FNFVF MySpace Profile, the FNFVF MySpace Profile Blog, the Redahde Productions MySpace profile, as well as submitting to NativeVue, job searching, job working, and well as other writing and screen writing, I will have plenty of time to do this as well. Stay Tuned.
:[ The WOS Top Ten Lists of 2007
Of course these lists are constrained by what I saw, or experienced this year, not necessarily by release. So if a re-issued DVD, or album was released, I count it. For books, it’s wide open and constrained to what I have read this year rather than what has been published this year.
Go to WOS Reviews for my 2007 Top Ten Lists. COMING SOON. (I want to see "There will be Blood" first.)
:[ I am not too proud to admit that the very first record, the very first piece of music that belonged to me was "Saturday Night" by The Bay City Rollers. Of course it was a hand-me-down 45 from my brother Allen, but it belonged to me. It also made me learn to appreciate music, secondhand. What brought this to mind was that I was singing the spelling of my 12-year-old’s name to the opening of that song. I found that I still appreciated the beat of it. But also, it made me think of that first 45 single.
I never really followed the singles or album charts. From time to time I bought what was popular, like Michael Jackson’s "Thiller" (Great record. Great record.). But if not for seeking out the non-popular thing or getting my music from my brother’s cast-offs, I would have missed out on the likes of The BoDeans, Toni Childs, Robbie Robertson, The Waterboys; heck, even my like of U2 started as a second-hand experience, again from my brother Allen who let me have his "War" cassette, his vinyl copy of "The Unforgettable Fire" and allowed me to bogart his "The Joshua Tree" cassette.
I find I like entire albums rather than one or two singles. That is how I judge music nowadays. Today’s kids are programmed into thinking singles and iTunes plays and cashes in on that. Which is why I love U2, their entire albums have been consistently good, and not just a single song in which an album is constructed around.
:[ Short movie review: It is good sometimes for my Bonnie and I to get out and see some grown-up movies. We’ve been lucky enough to catch the few listed here. I am going to take her to Beowulf to get her reaction to it. Here is the latest batch:
No Country For Old Men: Review - Very good. Recommended. Tommy Lee Jones is a treat and back to form. Still, not the be all end all of Cohen Movies, or the business of movie making in general.
American Gangster: Review - Very good. Denzel Washington is outstanding.
Beowulf Review - See this in IMAX 3D. It is pretty good. I never get why there was a big deal made about the CGI of a nude Angelina Jolie when there are plenty of pictures and movies that depict an ACTUAL nude Angeline Jolie (Not that I went out looking for them... today.). Just more Geeks getting into a tizzy over another fake woman. Damn geeks. (I think it makes it easier to sexually objectify her.) Anyways, I started reading the Seamus Heany translation (of Beowulf, not Angelina Jolie.), an illustrated version, just so I can say I read it.
Episode XII
December - Winter 2007
Hello All;
So another year has come and gone. So much for the fountains of youth. I hope all of you are doing well in all this icy weather or however the weather is in your area. I hope your holidays were good ones. So, let’s get this Year End Edition off the ground shall we?
Off with the horns, on with the show:
:[ The temperature drops quickly and the sleet falls in heavy blankets. I am stuck walking the icy streets, every so often my shoes slip out from under me, I catch my balance. Now, every driver in Skokie and Chicago see a great, big Indian guy walking down the streets, every once in a while doing "Fosse Hands!" as I struggle to catch my balance as I amble up the icy pavement.
Then, just like that it’s gone. All melted in one day. We had hoped to sled on Christmas but the snow just did not stick around. Maybe next year. As of this posting, it is snowing again like mad.
:[ It seems the Christmas Season is starting earlier every year. Soon, we will be endlessly shopping for that new gift all year around.
:[ Long Way Round - DVD
This British reality series is a lot more credible that most US offerings. Mainly because it does not pretend to be anything more than a pair of actors indulging an adventurous whim. What gets you through the first episode is the charm of the two actors; Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor.
The real drama comes when they are stuck in both Mongolia and Russia’s infamous "Road of Bones". I found the series to be a nice journey and the two actors are charming and aware of their own fallibility. It also made me want to journey somewhere on a motorcycle. Who’s up for that? I don’t know how to drive one but that will be part of the drama.
:[THE SHOSHONI CONNECTION UPDATE:
Coming soon to the Redshade Productions’ MySpace Blogs! I am going to update the Redshade Productions MySpace blog about my journey towards getting this movie made. I have decided I will not make any other features until this one is out of my system.
So in addition to Wisdom of the Sages, WOS Reviews, the Redshade Report, the FNFVF website, the FNFVF MySpace Profile, the FNFVF MySpace Profile Blog, the Redahde Productions MySpace profile, as well as submitting to NativeVue, job searching, job working, and well as other writing and screen writing, I will have plenty of time to do this as well. Stay Tuned.
:[ The WOS Top Ten Lists of 2007
Of course these lists are constrained by what I saw, or experienced this year, not necessarily by release. So if a re-issued DVD, or album was released, I count it. For books, it’s wide open and constrained to what I have read this year rather than what has been published this year.
Go to WOS Reviews for my 2007 Top Ten Lists. COMING SOON. (I want to see "There will be Blood" first.)
:[ I am not too proud to admit that the very first record, the very first piece of music that belonged to me was "Saturday Night" by The Bay City Rollers. Of course it was a hand-me-down 45 from my brother Allen, but it belonged to me. It also made me learn to appreciate music, secondhand. What brought this to mind was that I was singing the spelling of my 12-year-old’s name to the opening of that song. I found that I still appreciated the beat of it. But also, it made me think of that first 45 single.
I never really followed the singles or album charts. From time to time I bought what was popular, like Michael Jackson’s "Thiller" (Great record. Great record.). But if not for seeking out the non-popular thing or getting my music from my brother’s cast-offs, I would have missed out on the likes of The BoDeans, Toni Childs, Robbie Robertson, The Waterboys; heck, even my like of U2 started as a second-hand experience, again from my brother Allen who let me have his "War" cassette, his vinyl copy of "The Unforgettable Fire" and allowed me to bogart his "The Joshua Tree" cassette.
I find I like entire albums rather than one or two singles. That is how I judge music nowadays. Today’s kids are programmed into thinking singles and iTunes plays and cashes in on that. Which is why I love U2, their entire albums have been consistently good, and not just a single song in which an album is constructed around.
:[ Short movie review: It is good sometimes for my Bonnie and I to get out and see some grown-up movies. We’ve been lucky enough to catch the few listed here. I am going to take her to Beowulf to get her reaction to it. Here is the latest batch:
No Country For Old Men: Review - Very good. Recommended. Tommy Lee Jones is a treat and back to form. Still, not the be all end all of Cohen Movies, or the business of movie making in general.
American Gangster: Review - Very good. Denzel Washington is outstanding.
Beowulf Review - See this in IMAX 3D. It is pretty good. I never get why there was a big deal made about the CGI of a nude Angelina Jolie when there are plenty of pictures and movies that depict an ACTUAL nude Angeline Jolie (Not that I went out looking for them... today.). Just more Geeks getting into a tizzy over another fake woman. Damn geeks. (I think it makes it easier to sexually objectify her.) Anyways, I started reading the Seamus Heany translation (of Beowulf, not Angelina Jolie.), an illustrated version, just so I can say I read it.
Also saw a tons of kids movies, and "Walk Hard" which was pretty funny, especially the Beatles. I will have to take time to recall everything I seen in the theater for the 2007 Top Ten on WOS Reviews. (Coming Soon.)
:[ I am listening to the "Batman Begins" soundtrack right now and it is phenomenal. Did you see the new movie preview and the "leaked" Joker Prologue! Damn good stuff. Batman Begins will now be my official soundtrack. For me. In my head. Every day. Even if it's just walking down the street or sitting there quietly contemplating the path I chose in dealing with the grief in my life, or frying bacon.
:[ THREE KINGDOMS UPDATE: Just when you thought I put this to bed. I am now starting the latest updated and unabridged version. It comes in two mammoth volumes this time instead of four novel-sized books. I am going through the early parts of the story again. The rise of Dong Zhou and his General Lu Bu. Cao Cao is there defending the throne and the Oath Brothers are gaining power.
Now, I have never played all the Three Kingdoms video games at all and find it somewhat disconcerting that, that is how so many American teens have discovered this novel. When they find out that movie makers are adapting the book rather than making everything look like the video games, they complain. I don’t get that.
Anyways, I am now writing my own screenplay based on the novel and my approach is something I don’t think anyone would have expected from me. Stay tuned.
:[ Yet another "Bring It On" movie hits video stores. When will it end? "Bring It On Yet Again: Would Just Bring It On Already?"
:[ I am working on yet another longer piece for WOS, about Jesus in the context of his times. I am wondering if I shouldn’t put it in the Redshade Report because I want to cover a little more ground with it. Let me know if you want it on the regular WOS or on the Redshade Report. (Which will determine the length of the piece.) Thank you.
Also, not to get quasi-religious, but it seems the rich, Neo-con, Christian Right have forgotten Matthew 25: 40, "Truly I say to you, you do so for those, the least of my brethren, you do so for me."
:[ We keep telling our kids that it is not what they look like that matters but what they do that is important and defines them, yet, we as adult seem to have forgotten to live by that....
:[ U23D is coming to theaters January 23. 2008 is turning out to be a good year for movies.
That will do it for this month. Merry Christmas everybody! I hope you are able to take the time to enjoy your family and friends. When 2008 comes around the corner don’t forget to give it a warm hug and a kick to the groin. See you next year.
By the way, I will be dropping a short note to each and everyone one of you, as is my custom from time to time, to catch up and see how you are doing. Please take time to fill me in on how your life is going, okay? ‘Cause I really am interested. I’ll just be interested over here by the um, cookies, ‘kay?
Until next time; "Activate the Asset"
© 2007 Wisdom of the Sages - Ernest M. Whiteman III
:[ I am listening to the "Batman Begins" soundtrack right now and it is phenomenal. Did you see the new movie preview and the "leaked" Joker Prologue! Damn good stuff. Batman Begins will now be my official soundtrack. For me. In my head. Every day. Even if it's just walking down the street or sitting there quietly contemplating the path I chose in dealing with the grief in my life, or frying bacon.
:[ THREE KINGDOMS UPDATE: Just when you thought I put this to bed. I am now starting the latest updated and unabridged version. It comes in two mammoth volumes this time instead of four novel-sized books. I am going through the early parts of the story again. The rise of Dong Zhou and his General Lu Bu. Cao Cao is there defending the throne and the Oath Brothers are gaining power.
Now, I have never played all the Three Kingdoms video games at all and find it somewhat disconcerting that, that is how so many American teens have discovered this novel. When they find out that movie makers are adapting the book rather than making everything look like the video games, they complain. I don’t get that.
Anyways, I am now writing my own screenplay based on the novel and my approach is something I don’t think anyone would have expected from me. Stay tuned.
:[ Yet another "Bring It On" movie hits video stores. When will it end? "Bring It On Yet Again: Would Just Bring It On Already?"
:[ I am working on yet another longer piece for WOS, about Jesus in the context of his times. I am wondering if I shouldn’t put it in the Redshade Report because I want to cover a little more ground with it. Let me know if you want it on the regular WOS or on the Redshade Report. (Which will determine the length of the piece.) Thank you.
Also, not to get quasi-religious, but it seems the rich, Neo-con, Christian Right have forgotten Matthew 25: 40, "Truly I say to you, you do so for those, the least of my brethren, you do so for me."
:[ We keep telling our kids that it is not what they look like that matters but what they do that is important and defines them, yet, we as adult seem to have forgotten to live by that....
:[ U23D is coming to theaters January 23. 2008 is turning out to be a good year for movies.
That will do it for this month. Merry Christmas everybody! I hope you are able to take the time to enjoy your family and friends. When 2008 comes around the corner don’t forget to give it a warm hug and a kick to the groin. See you next year.
By the way, I will be dropping a short note to each and everyone one of you, as is my custom from time to time, to catch up and see how you are doing. Please take time to fill me in on how your life is going, okay? ‘Cause I really am interested. I’ll just be interested over here by the um, cookies, ‘kay?
Until next time; "Activate the Asset"
© 2007 Wisdom of the Sages - Ernest M. Whiteman III
