Wisdom of the Sages
Episode II
February - Winter 2008
Hello People of the World!
I don’t know how any of you feel about the whole Valentine’s Day Holiday but I hope you had a nice one, or at least friends and family to share it with. But don’t you hate that when you think you are going to get one thing done early it just does not turn out that way. This month’s edition is on that list. I had hoped to post Feb. 1st, but that didn’t happen.
Oh well, whatever, never mind; let’s hit it:
:[ Heath Ledger’s Death: This was sudden and shocking. I am sad to see that he passed just when he was starting to break through as an actor. I hope that his role in The Dark Knight will cast one last light on his talents....
:[ I am getting tired of all the Endless Remakes! Have we as a society run out fo fresh ideas for movies that we need to remake them? I just read about a remake of "Metropolis", of "METROPOLIS"?!?!? The Fritz Lang CLASSIC!
Everything from the bottom of the barrel to the best of the best getting remade because we can’t let new movie makers take a chance on their own visions. We need to keep the dulled masses paying for tickets in this internet world, so we continually get insipid Parody Movies ("Meet the Spartans"?) and twist endings. That’s all we’ve been reduced to in movies.
Here’s a short list of all the remakes in the works:
The Birds
Escape from New York
High Noon
The Day the Earth Stood Still (With Keanu Reeves as Klatuu)
Even dreck like Hell Raiser (Why) and Child’s Play (Again, why.) are being remade. Cripes. When will it end?
:[ Remember our Nation’s Fear of a Communist Government? When we rooted out anyone who maybe even heard about Communism and we beat the shit out of them and left them to rot, all because our democracy had to be safeguarded against such things as a Government-Sponsored Police Force, Neighbors Spying on you, Government Spying on its citizens, General Suspicion of Outside Forces, a breakdown of Civil Rights and Liberties, Government-Controlled Media and censorship.
Realistically, if you look at it, the only way for a Communist Leader to gain control (outside of a coup de tat that would start a WW3), is to be democratically elected. Let’s face it, once Lenin Marx Jr. is elected he will have to deal with a democratically elected Congress and House of Representative who would shoot down every one of his policy changes. A Communist Government in the USA has always been completely out of the question.
Which is a good thing too. I mean, can you imagine living in a country that has a Government-Sponsored Police Force, Neighbors Spying on you, Government Spying on its citizens, General Suspicion of Outside Forces, a breakdown of Civil Rights and Liberties, Government-Controlled Media and censorship?
It’s a good thing that hasn’t happened....
:[ Once, I had a burning church spire fall on top of me... no, wait, that was Ralph Macchio in "The Outsiders".
:[ Fight Quest on the Discovery Channel, you know, I am so tired of this show and I haven’t even seen it! With all the endless ads up until its premiere and now endless ads espousing two anglos learning secret fighting techniques, I am really tired of it. Unless it is about them getting their asses handed to them on a weekly basis. That might make for good television.
:[ I am working to put up a whole bunch of DVD/Movie reviews for you on the WOS Review page. So stay tuned for reviews of: 3:10 to Yuma DVD/D-Wars/HEROES - DVD: Season One/The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It will take me some time to finish these up so do have some patience.
:[ There was an interest Chicago Reader article about selling fake works of art and the buyers’ need to be fooled. I am very interested in this topic. About the Authorship of Expertise and how it continues to invade many arts forms.
"Everyone wants to think they outsmarted the dealer," Peter Bartlow says, "And dealers rely on that."
And when it comes to selling art at auction, Barlow advises against attending to purchase an advertised masterpiece but, "They want it to be what they want it to be."
I can see this happening in the world of Native American culture, society, and art. The experts and the perceived "buyers". As stated before, Welles had it right when he said, "the experts are the greatest fakers."
:[ Finally! There is a Red Cliffs Teaser Trailer for the upcoming John Woo film. As for my continued reading of Three Kingdoms and the script I am writing based on it; I have had two people read the opening ten minutes of the script and deemed it adequate, while they have never read the source material. I would like to garner feedback from someone who has. The script is outlined and I will need help to polish dialogue and setting. I think this will be the follow-up feature to Shoshoni Connection. The trailer should give you context for the material. John Woo’s film comes out in the fall.
:[ I once had to stab and kill a Soc because he was trying to drown my friend Pony Boy, wait... dang, that was Ralph Macchio in "The Outsiders" too!
:[ I was intrigued by comments on the American Dream made Bill Moyers in one of his programs I saw on PBS. He mentioned in today’s debt-infused world that the notion of starting at the bottom and working your way to riches is getting further and further out of reach for many American citizens. With the rising cost of everything from medical care to a gallon of milk, there are a lot less opportunities for a person to work and make enough to cover everything and save and eventually get rich.
Now, what struck me about this was this is how it has been always for Native Americans. No opportunities to work, to save, to eventually BREAK EVEN with society. Now, this income gap is widening for Joe America and everyone is saying something, but Natives have been going through this for centuries. I mean, you get your lands taken, your culture decimated, promises and treaties broken, and subjected to the terrorism of early morning attacks that kill hundreds of innocent women and children (sound familiar?), as well as, being subjected to the bio-terrorism of smallpox and ruthlessness of dishonorable warfare, and you see how you and generations of your children will feel.
For the Native Wannabes who keep thinking that being an Indian is so cool and whom want to be like an Indian, I say, live in today’s economic and fear-mongering society and you will know what it feels like to be an Indian. Once those National ID Cards are distributed, WELCOME TO THE CLUB!
:[ I read an interesting article in the Chicago Reader’s Straight Dope section that busts the myth that sugar agitates children’s behavior. In separate studies, both have shown that the primary influence when a child ingest sugar and begins to act crazy is the parent’s expectation that they act crazy. The only way sugar will harm your child is if they eat too much of it and gain weigh or contract Diabetes.
:[The Microwave oven at our house died a few months ago. While we shopped for a replacement we had to do without one. It wasn’t until we had tot hat we realized the generational gap between my Wife and I and our Girls. You see, they never grew up without ever NOT having a microwave. We constantly heard about it too. Unheard of cook times like 15 minutes seemed like eternities to them. While My Bonnie and I were perfectly comfortable with stove top cooking. Such is the advance and effect of technology.
:[ I know I should be getting excited about the upcoming Watchmen Movie, but I am pretty apathetic about it. I just reread the graphic novel to bone up on the story. Nice, if unevenly paced. I hate that exact interpretation of comics are happening, beginning with Sin City. I was never a fan of Snyder’s 300, and I dislike that seeing the movie will now take the place of reading the Watchman book. Movies are supposed to lend to their own interpretations of the characters. But now we have to sit in front of screen and follow along in our books like the ARPL and Arc cassettes we had in grade school.
:[ I once had to defeat my bully, using a crane kick technique I had to teach myself; winning the karate tournament championship, the respect of my bully, and, the heart and virtue of the girlfriend I stole from him. I know what you’re thinking. But really, who thought they’d make a movie out of it? (Ah the classics.)
:[ Okay, I am officially excited about the new Indiana Jones Movie. I am also pretty excited about the Iron Man movie too. Though I hate the though of Rob Zombie possibly directing the next Conan movie. What got me excited about those two movies were little moments in their respective trailers.
In the Indiana Jones one, it was him running along the tops of wooden crates and whipping a light and swinging off towards a moving truck, all done in one shot. Damn cool. For Iron Man, the moment is less noticeable, but you can catch it if you are looking for it. In the trailer, Iron Man is flying facing the camera, then two jets float up on screen behind him. Now, that isn’t the moment. The moment is as soon as it shows Iron Man in that shot, he is unsteady, swivelling for balance, before the jets show up. Nice little detail that got me thinking it may be a cool movie.
That will do it for this month. Let me know what you think. I am making my way through the mailing address book getting The Note out to each and every one of you. Take time to let me know how you are doing. Even if we correspond every day, or hardly ever. But please, leave a comment or two. Even if you disagree with me.
Until next time; "Doc, prescribe this malingerer a can of peaches and show him the f^cking door."
