Hello People of the World;
So, here we are in the fragrant copse of a new year. Last
year was filled with too many man-made catastrophic endings, be they political,
financial or earth-ending if you bought into that nonsense. You know whom I
feel bad for? The Maya. Yeah, the Maya. Since their latest calendar ended and
the world did not end, no one is going to care about them anymore. No one is
ever going to think of the Maya anymore in terms of how they were interacting
with our world today, be it only in the superficial apocalyptic sense. After
December 21, 2012, everyone on the planet simply dropped it and never gave the
Maya another thought.
In a sense, we made them visible so that it would be
easier to dismiss them. Sad, really. Yet, here we are in the new year. It is
almost as if that time cares nothing about us as a species, cares nothing for
our accomplishments, our failures, or our sins and regrets and yet, here we
are, a tiny speck of an animal always trying to fight it. The slow march to our
inevitable ends….
Anyways, let’s get started shall we?
1:[ First Item of the Month: More Truthfulness
Measuring the Years Selfishly
We constantly measure the passing years selfishly in how
many good things happened to us. I am always amazed at how we tend to shout to
the world every December 31 that next year will be our year and that the past
year was great simply because great sh*t happened to us. We never think that it
really is simply one day turning into the next because centuries ago, a group
of men arbitrarily decided that we should mark time by the seasons passing.
Strange, when you think about it.
Yet, every January 1, here we are talking about how it
affected us. We are a selfish species who care nothing for the nameless
millions out there without your grand luck. Because we got a good review or
someone bought our sh*t or the political movement we follow is getting
attention we think it was great. Why? Because good sh*t was happening to us.
Selfish.
Every year do we count the homeless that actually got
homes? No, because we are not homeless. Do we discuss the issues when kids on
the southside are shot to death? No, because they don’t look like our kids. Do
we think about those that do not have the comfort and security that I enjoy?
No, because they are not me. Every year we selfishly count our gains while
those we never think of continue on in spite of my new job or published book….
This year I decided that in my search for truthfulness
that I will discuss several truths about myself and hopefully can get some
things out and clear the air. I’ll start small. Maybe. I haven’t decided yet.
Coming Soon: More Truthfulness
+ NAMELESS: The Authentic and Magical Ledger Art of EW3 & A Treatise
on American Indian Art (VERY SOON): “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) COMPLETED: I am constantly surprised that no
one ever sees that Native Americans do the exact same things – like dancing
while people starve to death….
+ ONE: A Spoken Word: 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:[ Recently, the
Bonnster I joined a writing group and I a drawing group. I recently joined Meet
Up, a social website that you use to join other groups of people with similar
interests. I signed up for a local writing group and my Bonnie joined me and it
was pretty neat. I later signed up for a drawing and sketching group that meets
up in the same place as the writing group. But alas, I had to drop that one
because they started charging people to attend. I just don’t have the cash
friend. Anyways, we’ll see how the writing group goes….
3:[ More MOVIE TIME ADVENTURES:
+ I might have an opportunity to
shoot a documentary about a local music group. In fact, I have to get to writing
it up soon. I really want to shoot a 3D concert film or documentary. I think
documentaries and concert films do profit from 3D in ways that feature films
are supposed to. Anyway, I hope to be able to get this going independently very
soon….
+ Believe it or not I have not seen
a movie yet this year. I am looking forward to see Somewhere Between about the experience of Chinese adoptees. But
we’ll see….
+ As usual, here is My Year EndBest-Of List. You can read it and enjoy or disagree, which I am sure you will….
So do it already….
4:[ File this under: I’m
Getting Old.
I have seen in the news lately on a lot of
things happening that mark my getting older. First is the ceasing of one of the
beloved Monopoly pieces and the introduction of a new one. Now, this may not
hit you hard at all, but I was around the last time this happened. They
re-introduced the battleship piece a few years back as well as the cannon, but
the introduction of a new piece? That didn’t happen in my little girl’s
lifetime. And it is happening now. I’m old. I hope they choose the robot.
The other piece of news is the reported end of
the PS2 production. Now, I grew up with Atari and NES and never gave a second
thought to their passings. But this is a next generation console meant for kids
younger than I was and now it is going the way of the dodo thanks to Xbox and
PS3 and Wii. I recently began playing games on a PS2 and now it seems that it
is ending as I just got here. I mean, this was an OLD CONSOLE to my girls,
nieces and nephews. Oh well. I’m old.
Here is that absolutely greatest sign that I
am getting old – at my new job realizing that the high school juniors are NOT 6th
graders!
5:[ Ah yes, settle in Dear Readers for
more of:
Adventures
at the Coffee Shop!
+ The Coffee Fast is holding strong
so far. Of late, at my sister Val’s suggestion I have began making my own green
tea. But I make it by the gallon. I keep a used gallon bottle and make tea in
that. I buy boxes of green tea and have been slowly, slowly perfecting my
tea-making method. It is a trial and error process. I recently stopped using
six bags as it tasted bitter after too long a seep. Then, I had to learn how
long to let the tea seep before taking the bags out and adding sugar. I reduced
the amount of sugar as I found that I really do not like really sweet tea.
As you can see, it is a process that I enjoy as it adds
another routine to my living situation. Without coffee I have noticed that I am
sleeping “better”. With “better” being in quotes as I found I go to sleep easier
but restfulness is dependent on the day I had. Anyways, I am making my own tea
and keeping on my coffee fast, which began in September.
+ Human Nature @ Work:
I find it funny at how the resident “Cute” Barista Lady will treat the new
“Cute” Barista Lady….
+ I have noticed that I
do get a significant amount of frivolous work done whenever I seat myself in
the local Starbucks. I am able to work on my sketches, today I started FIVE new
ones, got more done on another drawing and now am finishing up WOS proper for
January. I order a tea and sit and stay as long as it takes to get some of the
sketches going or write until the battery on the laptop runs out.
I think I like Starbucks in general due to the
amount of light coming into the place. I manage with the crowds and stupid
music and chatty baristas. (Chatty to each other not to the customers. That’s
another thing I never understood, why not chat more with the customers? Mainly,
they talk about better things they could be doing instead of serving the likes of
me a tea.) Mainly due to the fact that I like sketching and writing more than I
hate crowds and noise. Sketching in that much light is beneficial and only
helps to get me out of the place on the days that I can actually make it to the
coffee shop, which recently, hasn’t been often….
+ Nothing beats little bitty boo
boos running around in brand new sunglasses. Kids rock….
6:[ With my new job I find myself
commuting all over the city of late but this has had that great side-effect of
when arriving early at places it has lead me to around the neighborhoods more
walking and exploring. I err on the side of being early and since getting to a
school early it has afforded me the chance to walk around the area and explore.
I find that most neighborhoods are very much alike. They have the same stores
and shops and traffic and billboards. So, I have no idea why we think that
coming from certain areas of the city means you are different some how, that
you should be treated any different. Anyways, I like to explore the city now
that I have the chance to....
7:[ And now Wisdom of the Sages
presents:
“An Ever-growing List of Things That MUST Stop!”
+ Honking: Some time ago, I began
reading Upton Sinclair’s Oil!,
because I was so enamored of There Will
Be Blood. But I never got past the first scene of the book. In it, the
unnamed father and son are racing down a mountainside road on a new automobile,
an open top model-t, I think. They describe how they had to wear goggles and
scarves to protect from the wind and road dust. One of the details in it being told
from the son’s point of view is how his father swore under his breath with
every turn in the switchback, hairpin turns. They are on their way to the town
meeting that opens the movie “There Will Be Blood”. As they near the turns, his
father squeezes the air bulb on the attached horn to alert the pedestrians
coming up the hill to their coming around the turn. Which surprised me.
You see: we blast horns on our cars now days for no
f*cking reason it seems. Back when cars were first introduced it was to alert
people of their presence and to get out of the way. It was a courtesy. But now
it is used more to alert others of our annoyance and being inconvenienced. We
are rat bastards. Honking. What does it really help?
+ I may be speaking too soon but I
am so happy the snow hasn’t come down in heavy blankets because of the most
idiotic and stupid of “Chicago Traditions”: the Dib. I’m going to shovel out
every car on the entire block and lay down my dibs on the whole thing. Why not?
I broke my back shovel fucking snow! This goes to show you that doing a good
turn for your neighbors has been replaced with false senses of achievement and
privilege and selfish entitlements…. But who knows, the snows may come before I
post this and this stupid childishness will rear its bloated head once again….
+ Using words such as
‘amaze-balls’, ‘awesome sauce’ and ‘like a boss’ in your Internet comments
needs to stop. Who the fuck talks like that? Idiots. That’s who. It is amazing
at how we sacrifice intelligence for cleverness….
8:[ I really used to hate the robot
cashiers at the self-serve lanes at the grocery. They made me feel bad about
the human cashiers they were replacing. But lately I find myself in the odd
position of being glad the robot cashiers are there, not out of useless
convenience but because of how much I really hate talking to strangers….
9:[ From the “This Just In” Department: Oh yeah! So there I was, on my way home
from a school visit on 83rd and Racine. It was a long ways with many
transfers and I usually spend the time reading. I keep Three Kingdoms on hand for these long commutes but lately I have
been reading A Song of Fire and Ice.
I am currently reading Book Two: A Clash
of Kings. So, there I was, leaning against a post waiting for the Purple
Line to take me home, the final leg of my trip back to my neighborhood. I was
deep into my book when suddenly a flash happens and I look up and I realize
this f*cking Dude on the train platform took my picture! Of course, he stopped
ever so briefly pointed at his phone, pointed to my hat and muttered with a
phony smile, “I took a picture” and was gone before I could say “Uh, no. Please
delete that.”
I am reminded of how images of Natives were the property
of the photographers and how they were responsible for how the country viewed
Natives. From Curtis to tourists at the roadside trading posts, the images of
Natives were represented by these images. Many, wrongly so. For so long the control
of such images of Natives were out of the hands of the Natives themselves. So
now, I cannot control how he will use or how he will represent me in the
context of that usage. So, there you go.
10:[ Last Item of the Month: Mars Colonists Wanted! Mars One,
Netherlands Non-profit group is looking for people to colonize the planet Mars.
According to this article, the group wants to turn the selection process into a
reality TV series with plans to land on the red planet in 2023, ten short years
from now. I am thinking about looking into this. I think it would be cool. The
only catch is that it is a one-way trip since the main purpose is to colonize
the planet. What do you think?
That will do it for this month. As you can see, this year
so far has been pretty much like last year. Oh well. As with all editions,
please feel free to comment, correct or contradict anything on Wisdom of the
Sages. I am very open to such things. As with all things here, I do try to keep
my ego out of it. Being informed means hearing all points of view and sides and
taking them into consideration.
All right?
Until Next Time, “I try to show the schemers how pathetic
their attempts to control everything really are.”
© 2013 Ernest M. Whiteman III
