Sunday, November 18, 2012

November - Fall 2012





Hello People of the World;

Here we are in the middle of the month set aside to remember Native American History, because Native American history will forever be associated with eating turkey. Well, the weather has grown cold, due to it being autumn and all. No, it’s not freezing, it’s cold. There is a difference. I come from the low mountain area of the Rockies, between the plains and the mountains. So we got the extremes of all weather. So far, I remain unimpressed by Chicago “Winters”.

The Lightning Snows are pretty cool, though, I have to admit. (Say ‘thank you’ to Global Warming for that one every one! You: THANK YOU GLOBAL WARMING!)

So, by the time you read this, the US Citizen Collective will have elected the New Regime. I know, I know, but who ever is elected, it is the New Regime. I am not sorry to say, I sat it out on November 6th. Sorry, I didn’t vote that day. What if you don’t want to be led? Where does that vote go? I don’t need a leader. I do all right on my own…*. (Annnnnd, I’ll leave it at that….)

Anyways, let’s get started shall we?


1:[ First Item of the Month: More Truthfulness

Zen and the Art of Maintaining an Ego

In my looooong life here on the planet I have learned very few things that I consider useful information in regards to living anything resembling a “normal” life – 1) the key to any long life is simple curiosity. You have to want to know what happens next. Which is why I am confident that I will live a long life. 2) You have to check your ego at the door because no one gets out of here alive.

One of the things I am working really hard at is trying to take my ego out of things. Let’s face it, everything we do, react to, rally for and support are part and parcel acts of our egos. But that is the toughest thing to do because we associate and hinge too many things onto our egos. By letting it go I hope I can see that most things that I get upset about are nothing really to get upset about. For one, I cannot control how someone will react emotionally to something I have done or written. Just as how I react to something done or written has no bearing on anything.

We live in a society of being better than others at whatever the cost. We give up integrity, consideration, humility and genuine compassion in exchange for recognition, even for our compassions, validation, even for our reactions and notoriety, even for our buffoonery. We all feel the need to be the One. The one that gets it, understands, that leads, that does what ever it is that makes us separate from the rest. Ego.

Everything from our hates and prejudices, and more so our love and charity, comes from our ego. We hate it when people do not agree with us because it insults our intelligence. Every single thing we do in life comes down to our massive egos: I believe in this, I support that, I use CREDO, I support the CONSERVATIVES, OCCUPY this and that, my religion is this and that is bad…. It all comes back to our egos.

Our generosity, our charity, our humility, our modesty, it is all ego. Our love, our kindnesses, our altruisms, our dedication to change, our dedication to changing things back, our calls for leadership, for something to be done, committees to be formed, our calls to action; all ego. We want to be the one SEEN doing these things.

I always think back to Doug Stanhope’s words about comedy and always relate it to the community at large. We always go around saying something like “So long as the community is served” or something. But no, we don’t really care about serving the community. We don’t say that when the guy at the next desk or the lady on the stage or the organization down the street doing the same thing you are and doing as good a job serving the community. No, we hate that and them. It is really, “So long as everyone SEES ME serving the community.” Ego.

Look at me. Look at how I am right. Look at how I care, at how I treat those in need, the kids, the elders, the poor, the job makers, the people…. Ego.

Look at how I “step up” when everyone else fails to…. Ego.

Even when we say, “I love you” – the “I” comes before the “You” we proclaim to love…. Ego.

Minutia, you think. I am making a bigger deal of it than necessary. I am seeing something that is not there. There is nothing wrong with being a proud parent, Christian, Liberal, or whatever. That’s vanity. That’s ego. We need to be right…. “I am right”, is nothing but a shield to protect your ego from fallibility, plain and simple. It is all ego and nonsense and prevents us from truly helping one another. No, there is everything wrong with it. We simply have forgotten what it means to be human beings, free on the earth.

But it is so hard to let go of an ego. It truly is. There is nothing more egotistical than writing your thoughts in a blog and expecting readership. More so, that that readership gain something from your words. How f*cking dare I! So, more and more I am trying to let go of my ego. I try not to overreact to the things that irritate me or anger me because I know that these emotional reactions are reaction of ego. If I can keep a clear head and stick to reason and logic, I feel that I can better myself and let the world take care of itself. I don’t know….

Coming Soon: More Truthfulness

+ NAMELESS: The Authentic and Magical Ledger Art of EW3 & A Treatise on American Indian Art (VERY SOON): The ledger art project is getting a preview run at the Meztli Art Gallery in Pilsen! So go check that out when you can my Chicago peeps. This “Project Statement” is getting way out of control because it ties into the Seven Hypocrisies (see below) and with the recent buffoonery of No Doubt and the Hypocritical Egos that chastised them coming to the fore, I feel that I need to complete it soon.

+ The Five Six SEVEN Hypocrisies of Native America: (Because Seven is a sacred number) Yes, that is the full title of the piece. COMPLETED. With the recent GAP, Victoria’s Secret and No Doubt controversies I am definitely posting it soon. I am constantly surprised that no one ever sees that Native Americans do these exact same things….

+ ONE: A Spoken Word (October 1): I hope to read this one live soon. There is a closing reception coming up that I would love to read this rough draft in front an audience….


2:[ You know how much of a geek I am? The only books that I put down Three Kingdoms for in the past three years has been Ray Bradbury's A Pleasure to Burn, Daniel Wilson’s Robopocalyse and the novelization of The Dark Knight Rises…. Go figure.


3:[ More MOVIE TIME ADVENTURES:

+ Rifftrax Live: Birdemic – Review: Bonnie and I went to see the latest from the fellows from Rifftrax. This time, we did not go alone. We took our Char and she loved the show but hated the movie. Birdemic is one of those bad movies that everyone gets behind and gains some notoriety. Listen, we are promoting mediocrity simply because it entertains us. Frankly, we think we are above it because we think we are in on the joke of liking bad movies such as “Twilight”, “The Room” or “The Expendables” (Yea. I said that.) but we are the joke because the money we spend on these makes it easier for movie studio to put less effort towards making quality films. In the end, we all suffer.

Anyways, we brought our Boo along for the ride that night and although she enjoyed the event, the film “Birdemic” really tested her. She was facepalming at the sheer stupidity of it all throughout the film. Char is one of those kids that really pay attention to the plot of a movie. Even though the guys at Rifftrax are on hand making fun of the movie, Char had some interest in the plot of the movie. She later told me that I scarred her for life with the sheer badness of being exposed to “Birdemic” even through the protective veneer that is Rifftrax. A huge trash can bag full of Five Guys fries only partially made up for the scarring. It was such a fun night with two of my favorite ladies….

+ The Same old JL vs. Avengers Movie Buffoonery: No, the upcoming Justice League movie DOES NOT need to do several solo character films just to satisfy your comic geek egoisms. The Justice League is already well known. Warner Bros, has had several successful cartoon series based on various versions of the Justice League for the past decade and longer. It doesn’t matter. You’ll go see it anyway, no matter how much you bitch about it….

+ Seven Psychopaths and the Indie Playbook of Doom: So Bonnie and myself found ourselves with a free evening, so we decided to see a “grown-up” movie. With our girls growing up and taking less of an interest in kiddy or teenybopper movies, Bonnie and I find time to actually go out and see movie that interest us. The latest movie we saw was Seven Psychopaths about a screenwriter going through writer’s block with his insane friend. Now, the title is a wannabe-clever play on Seven Samurai, which is a play out of the Old Indie Film Playbook of Doom. Other infraction? Let’s list them:

Christopher Walken playing a bizarre role but just doing nothing but acting like Christopher Walken? Check.

It involves screenwriting as a plot device? Check.

There is a classic convertible? Check.

Sam Rockwell playing an unbalanced madman? Check.

Woody Harrelson as an ironically violent mob boss? Check.

Everyone dies? Check. (Well, almost everyone.)

Are there lots of flashbacks about people inconsequential to the main plot? Check.

A white guy says the word “n*gger” and it’s okay because the black person he’s talking to says it too? Check.

A script that becomes increasingly self-aware to the point it cutely prefaces its own third act? Double check.

Tom Waites in it for no reason other than he is Tom Waites and he talks like Tom Waites? Triple Check that nonsense!

All in all, another too-cute indie film that banks on its stars and the quirky nature of the situation. The way the guy just walks around unaffected at the end after seeing so much violence is indicative of its useless Indie filmic roots….

+ So, Disney bought Lucasfilm LTD, George Lucas’ production company and announced “Star Wars Episode VII” for 2015! I know this decision is getting a lot of flack but those complaining that Lucas should retire and let someone else take the reins and make Episodes VII, VIII & IX, are now complaining that he did it just for the money. Sheesh. The guy cannot do anything right.

I am very excited. I hated the “expanded universe” of the books and games and the continued convolution of the Star Wars Universe, with the Prequels and everything in between being spread so thin and stretched too far. The book and comics, having gained their own popularity has dumped a lot of unnecessary garbage into the Star Wars Universe. The same can be said for The Clone Wars TV series. All of these characters and situations do nothing but water down the essential story of the Skywalker family and I have always hated that. I never cared that there could be a live-action TV series because it was not Episode VII.

Now, with Disney taking the reins and moving forward with Episode VII, I feel like I can finally take an interest again in Star Wars movies, because let’s face it, that is all we “fans” cared about – no, not the movies, but the anticipation of the movies. Nothing else comes close. Have you noticed how much of the attention this has taken away from the Justice League movie? I am just happy to be excited again about a new episode of the Star Wars Saga….


4:[ Once upon a time, we used to be wary of huge corporations knowing where we were at all times. It was called the Right to Privacy. We used to complain about security cameras in stores, cameras in the street lights, electronic passes for buildings and toll ways because we hated our movements being tracked by the so-called “big brother” and we were suspicious of people arriving at our door asking us polling information because we wanted our privacy.

Well, no more. We give it all up freely, now. Shoot, we used to give up BANKING information to rent movies at BLOCKBUSTER! These days, with the advent of Internet, we have no problem at all passing our personal information via credit card purchases and Internet polls. Hell, we install tracking devices call the I-Pass in our cars that track our movements across Illinois highways. It’s subtle too. Look at the polls on Yahoo’s front page: we give our status on credit card debt and traffic violations because we think we are taking part in some harmless poll. But we are giving up our location and the fact we owe debt or have traffic tickets due to some faceless corporation like Yahoo.

We are so programmed with this behavior that we think that a 7-11 poll to determine the next US President that involves buying COLORED CUPS somehow reflects that we have any influence on society. But we don’t. That’s vanity. What the hell happened to us? We now share endlessly what we fucking eat now on Facebook…! Are we that starved for validation that we sacrifice privacy?


5:[ Ah yes, settle in Dear Readers for more of:

Adventures at the Coffee Shop!

+ A Mom and her little girl sit by me and the mom realizes they put whipped cream on her girl’s drink. She allows it. So the little girl starts digging into the topping with her fingers. The Mom asks, “Shouldn’t you use a spoon on your whipped cream rather than your fingers?”

To which the little girl replies, “No. This is messier.”

Kids are awesome.

+ So, I visited a coffee shop nearby one of the schools that I work with for my new job. Walking in, you just know it was a hipster joint. Tables in the windowsills, wonky music on the PA, old-secondhand looking tables and chairs, teas and coffees kept in old mason jars (Which rob them of nutrients by the way. NEVER store anything in transparent receptacles.) and yet it still had wifi. I think Louis CK ruined hipster coffee shops in general with his famous rant about them. Because hipsters are never one to get the joke, probably started to go to hipster coffee shops more often just to try to be in on the joke. A green tea is still over $2 for a medium. I think that’s why I prefer the Starbucks because that started as a hipster coffee place and evolved into a place for typical people. People tend to think they are better than typical people who get coffee at a Starbucks. I think typical people are more interesting….

+ Have not had coffee in about close to two months now. I quit out of necessity. I am broke all the time and coffee is expensive. I splurge on a green tea from time to time though. But I’ll be honest, I never felt- zzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz.


6:[ There once were Native American men asking for the scalp of a white singer for her stupidity and ignorance displayed in her music video depicting Native culture. Now, is it an attempt at satire, an ego stroking or is it stupidly re-enforcing the stereotypes? Sure, we get that it’s “satire”, it’s just terrible satire and reveals nothing but an intellectual “ego stroking” in the face of others, Native or not, who don’t, quote-unquote: “get it”. If all people are supposed to stop using stereotypes all together, unconditionally, to know that ALL stereotypes are intrinsically bad, then why hypocritically use a stereotype to try to do nothing but make a point, which does absolutely nothing about the video in the first place? It’s hypocrisy. It is that old Native Hypocrisy of “Do as I say, Not as I do….


7:[ And now Wisdom of the Sages presents:

An Ever-growing List of Things That MUST Stop!

+ The idea that the upcoming Justice League movie needing to put out solo character films before it comes out? That needs to stop….

+ We just do not thank policemen enough, I think. I recently read about a couple of suicide attempts in which the police both saved the person involved and yet they were thanking everything else. No, I think it was the POLICEMEN, MAYBE, that trained years for these types of situations. No wonder why some of them act like jackasses because, we just don’t care about what they do, do for us. Think about it, it took 9-11 to get us to finally start thanking firemen and police for doing what they do. But now we seem to be back at that stage of taking them for granted. That non-thanking of working police officers needs to stop….

+ Sorry, I hate to say this but Skinny Jeans? That whole trend’s full title is SKINNY LEG Jeans. Yeah, it’s only your legs that are supposed to look skinny when you wear those….

+ You know those guys in the back of the room that always have something to say under their breath when a speaker is speaking, like they know better? Yeah, someone needs to punch them in the throat….

+ I’m sorry, if you like Kim Kardashian on Facebook or anyplace else, you are part of the f*cking problem….


8:[ You want to know how Vyvance helps you regulate your adult ADHD? By helping you focus on NOT F*CKING DYING! Did you ever see their commercial? The list of side effects is MORE THAN HALF THE COMMERCIAL! It includes SUDDEN DEATH!


9:[ From the “This Just In” Department: We are losing our intelligence according to scientists. This article on Yahoo states that many think that due to a lack of a life-endangering environment where we humans are reliant on technology, we lost that instinctual need to be smarter. There are some that state that our intelligence has evolved because of specified needs and tasks. So, it is still up for debate. Of course, the user comments once again de-evolve into the same political bickering. Well, there’s your proof right there….


10:[ Last Item of the Month: I recently had a discussion with an acquaintance of mine about Three Kingdoms. Over the years I have come to enjoy the novel immensely. Its thrilling tales of heroism and battle, of kingdoms vying against each other set against the backdrop of a China that existed about a thousand years before the United States, still captures my imagination and fires my inspiration towards integrity and valor. Now, this companion of mine kept pointing out that while he still enjoyed the stories, he always kept in mind that these were men, kings and princes and of stature still fighting to maintain a status quo of this ancient caste system. Well, yeah.

But this seems to be taking the book way too seriously. Or, at least serious enough to think that you are above it, you know, being smarter than the book. Of course it reflects the kingdoms and how monarchies ruled over peasants. That was the country back then. You think because you recognize that it somehow makes you a smarter reader? Does it make the current state of China any less of a quagmire? I dig the stories of valor and heroism. I am fully aware that where these stories come from. That they have grown above that “status quo” and impart some wisdoms and truths is what I recognize as well…. Or maybe I just didn’t like it that that is what my companion had to say about Three Kingdoms. See? Ego….


Before I go – a bonus item:

Bonus :[ Did you know that Doc Brown would have doomed Einstein to the effects of the vacuum of space on a Delorean or set him deep into earths mantle by having sent him forward one minute in time? Yep, in one minute the earth would have traveled 1,118.468 miles in its orbit! The earth’s atmosphere is only about 800 miles high and earth’s mantle is 1,800 miles deep!

A spontaneous time jump, let alone any sort of time travel in movies in general, never take into account the relative position of the earth in the galaxy. Which is why Time Travel would never work, the universe is in a constant sate of motion. The whole planet has moved in that minute Einstein jumped over and he would have ended up in outer space or deep in the earth’s crust. It is 1,057.43 miles from here to Riverton, Wyoming. Can you imagine getting there in a minute? That’s what happens every minute of every day. So yes, in reality, Doc Brown would have doomed his dog as the world’s very first time traveler. (It’s okay Doc. I would have also sent a test subject first. I’m a coward too….) Anyways.


That will do it for this month.

Yeah, so don’t give me that “You have no right to complain” noise about not voting on Election Day. If the guy screws it up, you picked him, it seem that I didn’t. Then, YOU have no right to complain. Me? I had nothing to do with it, so I get to complain all I want.** Savvy?

Anyways, feel free to comment, correct or contradict what you read here on my little weblog. As I said before, I am trying to take my ego out of everything. (trying so hard.) You should too and try to commit to a civil discourse. Okay? I’ll see you next month.

Until Next Time, “I try to show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control everything really are.”



* With respect to the works of Doug Stanhope.
** With respect to the works of George Carlin.
© 2012 Ernest M. Whiteman III