Hello People of the World;
Here we are just a few days away from the very date that
Mayans predicted: “You really need to grow up and get a life.” Actually, that
is more of a statement rather than a prediction. Those pesky Mayans! Too bad
there aren’t still over 6 million of them still alive that we can actually talk
to and stuff. You know? Find out why they are extinct and all? I hope all is
treating you well here at the End of the World. It’s been a good run for me, so
far.
I mean really? Are we still believing in that nonsense?
How stupid are we? I used to tell my students that I am giving them
super-secret Indian Knowledge when I tell them the TRUE meaning of the 12.21.12
date on the Mayan calendar. It means that it was simply time to get a new
calendar. I recommended a kitty calendar. We should hope so.
Oh yeah, speaking of the End Times: just a word of advice
for those with introverted friends. Usually, invitations come BEFORE
an event. All right? Good. Introverted people, while not talkative are still capable
of interaction. Gasp! Introverts are
not telepathic. Double Gasp! At least
give them a chance to turn you down….
Anyways, let’s get started shall we?
1:[ First Item of the Month: More Truthfulness
Why Do We Give Up So Easily for So
Easily?
I am constantly surprised by what we people give up once
we get what we want. For the day after Thanksgiving, typically called “Black
Friday”, we bitch and moan about crowds and berate others for our needless
consumerism, post “thought-provoking” images and quotes to Facebook about our
crass materialism then once we get our Xbox 360’s or whatever, we shut the f*ck
up, because you know, we got our shopping done and we bought something f*cking
cool! What f*cking sell-outs we are.
This always crosses my mind whenever I stand in line with
the “Hate Group”, as Louis CK calls it, at the post office or wherever, the
coffee shop, the grocery store, anywhere there is a line. We bitch and moan
right up to the point we get what we want, then we promptly forget the inconvenience
of being in line once we got our sh*t done, caring nothing, NOTHING at all for
those still in line as we get on our merry way.
I see this all the time – people hemming and hawing in the
lines. Like at the voting sites. Sure, the lines are long and people just need
to be f*cking patient. You are not that important. When the announcement came
that there was only one working computer to verify registrations, the
collective “Ugh” that roiled through the line was f*cking laughable. We have so
much dedication to this our “most important civic duty”. Grow up. Then, some
even got on their cell phone and made a big show of “I’m running late because
of this….” One even called the voting offices to complain about the computer,
making it sound like all the voting machines were crashing. “Well, can you come
down here and do something about this?” Geez.
Then, once those people got through and out the door after
voting. They were quiet as church mice. Not complaining, not looking back at
all at the other people in line who were still bitching and moaning, talking
conspiracies. Just went back to texting and ignoring the world. Yep, once we
get our sh*t done, we don’t care anymore. All the self-righteousness just melts
away once we get it done and move on. What we give up so easily for so easily….
Coming Soon: More Truthfulness
+ NAMELESS: The Authentic and Magical Ledger Art of EW3 & A Treatise
on American Indian Art (VERY SOON): I am pledging to finish this up very
soon. If anyone is interested in reading it in rough form let me know. The gist
of it is, to quote The Man: “All you care about is money. This city deserves a
better class of artist. And I’m going to give it to them.”
+ The Five Six SEVEN Hypocrisies of Native America:
(Because Seven is a sacred number) Yes, that is the full title of the piece.
COMPLETED: I am constantly surprised that no one ever sees that Native
Americans do the exact same things….
+ ONE: A Spoken Word: I was hoping to have this one ready for a
closing reception for the preview of NAMELESS, but alas the event was cancelled
and in any case, I could not be there. So, I will workshop it at local open
mics in the neighborhood. Keep an eye out….
+ Shouting in Circles: A Spoken Word (January 15): Just an adaptation
of a short piece I wrote in the community writing group some time back. It
seems apropos of late….
2:[ The “Ums” of Great Speeches: I
have noticed a trend of late. That ,no matter the venue or import of the
speech, we all still weasel “uh’s” and “um’s” into our grand speeches. Can you
imagine if in the great speeches of the world they had the “uh’s” and “um’s”? “I HAVE A DREAM! Uh. A Dream that, um, all
people are judged not by, uh, the uh, color of their skin, but, um, by the, uh,
the uh, content of their character. Um.”
“Four score and, um,
seven years ago. Our, uh, forefathers, um….”
“Ask not, uh, what
your uh, country can uh, do for you. But, um, what you can do, uh, for your
country.” Come
on. We need to grow up about this.
Even people who I think are smart and well spoken do this!
TED Talks are notorious for this. The person speaking can be the smartest person
in the room or an entertainer for years and they still stammer and “uh” and
‘um” when speaking and we ACCEPT THAT! Then we have the fucking audacity to get
mad because some one like the President uses a teleprompter. How stupid are we?
Wait! Don’t answer that….
3:[ More MOVIE TIME ADVENTURES:
+ I will be saving my The Hobbit, Lincoln and Skyfall Reviews for my year end “Best
Of List” on WOS Reviews. So, please keep and eye out for that soon. What did I
think was the best movie this year? You’ll be surprised I think. What about
books and music? Do you even care about my opinion at all? Too bad, you’re
going to get it anyway because that’s why we watch cable news. We are brain
dead and have to have others think for us. I will say this about Lincoln though. Daniel Day-Lewis makes
the movie. Doesn’t matter what you feel about Lincoln himself, DDL gave another
great performance. And after watching Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master I had come to the realization that the reason
I liked his There Will be Blood is
because of DDL and not PT Anderson. Speaking of The Master….
+ The more I think about it the
more I believe that Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The
Master” is actually a prequel to MANOS,
The Hands of Fate. Let’s think about this one: The Master takes place in the 40’s and 50’s. The perfect prequel
era for the 60’s era that Manos takes
place in. The primary story of The Master
is basically about torturing a drunk. In fact the full title should be The Master, or How to Torture a Drunk for
Fun and Profit. (I’m pretty sure a cool, indie, improv theater troupe could
make an eclectic play about that.) But it also is about another man, Phillip
Seymour Hoffman, at the head of a religion that is accused of being a cult. The
alcoholic in The Master is an
untamable animal that eventually leaves the group. He is also obsessed with
women in The Master and the Master in
Manos has several wives. Maybe,
Joaquin Phoenix goes on to start his own woman-obsessed cult in the future of
the character. The scene at the end where he is “processing” the woman he is
about to have sex with, looks remarkably like the wife Torgo was himself
obsessed with. The fact that the leader of the cult in Manos is called “The Master” makes it sound like a prequel to me….
+ I know, I know. It has been a
really long time since we had one of these: REDSHADE PRODUCTIONS UPDATE: Look
for a return of WotS Video. (SOON) Mikey
Redshade Saves the World is on hiatus now due to technical problems. The
major screenplays (ShoCon, Hamlet & 3Kingdoms) are gearing up to move
forward again. After seeing "El Mariachi" again I may try for a
spring shoot on Hamlet once again.
Novels, short stories and ledger project maintain their paces. Am looking for
crew and actor to shoot a grindhouse-style trailer entitled: DRUNKEN INDIAN. Let me know. In moving
forward on "The Shoshoni Connection" script, my action-packed drama
about an Arapaho hitman, which opens with a haircut and closes with a child
running in the rain.... Hardest part: connecting the two. What do you think?
4:[ I think I have
admitted this before; but I have an aversion to strong chemical smells. The
slightest whiff of something “chemically” and I get near-migraine headaches. I
bring this up because there is painting going on in the apartment building and
it is wafting through the vents into my apartment, no matte what floor they are
working on. Coming home to the strong paint smell jam-packed into my apartment
makes me headachy. This is why I have never smoked. Cigarette smoke makes me
literally sick. Marijuana smoke gives me migraines, which I hear is the
opposite of its intended effect. Anyways.
5:[ Ah yes, settle in Dear Readers for
more of:
Adventures
at the Coffee Shop!
+ More Starbucks? Yes, please.
Recent reports show that Starbucks continues to grow and open new stores all
the time. I think this is because so many people like the convenience of simply
running into a Starbucks and getting a fancy coffee drink in a place that just
happens to be on the way to work or on the way home from work. Simple. That
appeals to so many people. But other I know, HATE STARBUCKS.
I guess people have their problems with Starbucks is
because they offer the flavored drinks more so that other coffee places. Also, people
seem to hate it that it isn’t like a cool, indie coffee hut that they go to.
Complain that Starbucks is simply selling a brand and reputation rather than
good coffee. Sure, there are better cups of coffee out there. But people, by
and large are buying the favored drinks they offer. Plus, Starbucks does sell
better coffee than other places too. But its most outrageous sin is that ohm’gawd! it's a CORPORATION! The most
evil thing EVER! Give me a break.
It is one of the few corporations that takes care of its
workers. As far as I can see. It offers health coverage to even its part-time
workers. Which is why so many people I know work or worked there. It also
offers free-market coffee which NO ONE BUYS. It also started out as a cool
coffee hut, but the masses enjoyed it and it became successful and expanded. As
the scum and dregs called “normal people” began to show up, we still needed our
way of looking down on the normals. So, we bitch about how Starbucks isn’t like
the cool coffee hut that we frequent. We need to stay above them. Shoot, we
even yap about how McDonald’s coffee is better than Starbucks and they don’t
even take care of their workers. Hypocrisy, thy name is Coffee Connoisseur….
+ So, Bonnie and I
began frequenting another Starbucks in Evanston just to break up the monotony
of the B&N and the one on Howard. We found a spacious one and have enjoyed
going there often. Starbucks are simple and straightforward. Let’s face it: no
one is really a coffee expert. No one. We all pretend to be. We stop in at a
neglected shop somewhere in the cool part of town and we get our drinks, and we
judge it, it some was so much better last
time, I like this but not that, I like their so-and-so blend, the atmosphere is
so much better…. It is just one more thing we use to be better than other
people. I like the traffic of people that goes through a Starbucks. They are my
fellow people free on the earth. Why judge them because they get a coffee at a
Starbucks. I never understood that…. Hypocrisy, thy name is WOS author Ernest
M. Whiteman III….
+ Since I quit coffee, sometimes, I
miss stopping in at a Dunkin Donuts to get a quick coffee….
6:[ So, there I was, finding myself
in Pilsen, on Blue Island Avenue waiting to be let in a gallery to hang my art.
While I was waiting I see a “dude” walk around the corner and approach the door
that leads to the apartment above the gallery. This was your typical suburban
dude, wearing a running jacket over and ironic tee shirt and scrubby jeans and
too neat sneakers with a five-day growth of beard and shaggy, unwashed hair.
(Geez, when did greasy, unwashed hair become cool? I guess rez kids have been
cool for decades.) He rings the apartment and is let in.
After a few minutes Dude 1 comes back down with Dude 2.
Now, Dude 2 looks more like a suburban castaway. You know the type. The type
that moves to Pilsen because it’s, you know, Pilsen. He even dressed in all the
accoutrements of someone of privilege trying to look poor, to fit into the
neighborhood, but everything he wears is a little too shiny and new, right down
to the woolen skull cap covering his balding head, and skinny scarf wrapped
around his neck (blech). He had dragged down his fancy mountain bike and before
they head off, they stop at the fancy silver Volvo XC60, parked right there in
front of the apartment to grab a fancy aluminum water bottle out of the
backseat and he tucks it into his fancy mountain climbing bag. Presses the key
fob and sets the alarm while giving a look at me.
Then they walk off back around the corner whence Dude 1
appeared. I was thinking, just let them be. That was not an insult aimed at me.
It was just one buddy picking up another. Nothing about privilege or
entitlement at all, he was just a dude who settled in Pilsen. It left my mind
until I saw them again, pulling into the street, both in Dude 1’s shitty, little
blue Toyota car puttering noisily with Dude 2’s bike jammed into the tiny
backseat of the car…. Dude 2 is an asshat.
7:[ And now Wisdom of the Sages
presents:
“An Ever-growing List of Things That MUST Stop!”
+ I hate it when jerks roll into
the lane like we can’t see them just so they can block f*cking traffic because
they are needed right way. Stop that! Or someone will not stop in time….
+ What is worse is when people see
you coming up the street f*cking jump into the street anyway. That is bad
enough but what is more stupid is that they run into the street and once they
are in your lane THEY START TO F*CKING WALK!!! ARRRGGHHHHH!!!!! That REALLY
needs to stop. But people are stupid…. As evidenced by this next item:
+ People’s stupidity needs to stop.
Did you know that some ass started a petition to the White House for the
government to build a Death Star Space Station? That is true! Why would someone
waste his or her time? Unfortunately, other dummies signed it and since it
passed the requisite 25,000 signatures, the White House MUST respond. F*CK!
Unfortunately, with recent goings-ons in Oregon and Connecticut a
government-built Death Star seems stupid now doesn’t it?
8:[ Crosswalk signals: I am liking
the new timing on the crosswalk signals. It is too bad that they are necessary.
Before the new timing cars would plow ahead and care nothing for the
right-of-way of pedestrians. Now, the walk signal turns on before the red light
switches to green allowing walkers to enter the crosswalk and making the cars
have to wait for them! Ingenious!
What still surprises me though is that people STILL THINK
that pressing the Walk Signal Button INSTANTLY turns on the signal. It just
means it will turn on the next time the light changes. Funny how impatient we
are. I mean, I remember the news even did stories about how the signal didn’t
instantly change. Still, I am liking the new timing of the crosswalk….
9:[ From the “This Just In” Department: I think it is so sad that we use the
dead to profit our opinions….
10:[ Last Item of the Month: So, now that the frickin’ election is over
with, can we please stop it with all the politics, please? Just so you know, do
you know what percentage of “Uninformed Voters” voted in this last election? Do
you know? I do.
100%. That’s right ONE-HUNDRED PERCENT of voters that
voted in this election were uninformed. Think about it. How many voters actually
looked at the opposition’s positions and researched it deeply, taking a
critical look at not only what they thought were the bad and failed positions,
but also, looked at the good and what actually might work for the country? No one.
None. Zip. Zero. No voter did that. Instead, we only looked at the opposition’s
side to find ways to tear them down. That, my friends, is an UN-informed voter.
We voters like to be right, on the “moral” or “winning”
side of things. Many will say, “Well, there was nothing good about their
positions!” Sure, because you did not look for it and simply did research that
re-enforced your ideals. That’s all. In fact, that is all we ever do. We never
looked into what the other side brings to the table. We are an uninformed
society. And we voted 100% as such. End of story….
That will do it for this month.
I’ll see you next month. Maybe? If we survive look out for
my annual “Best of Stuffs” list over on WOS Reviews. Please feel free to
comment, correct or contradict anything I posted to this blog. It’s okay
really.
More and more I think we are growing apart as a species.
So, in the spirit of the new year dawning, please, talk to each other. Give
careful consideration to everyone you meet or know.
Until Next Time, “I try to show the schemers how pathetic
their attempts to control everything really are."
© 2012 Ernest M. Whiteman III
