Hello People of the World;
Ah, summer, how you constantly surprise us with
your temperatures remaining quite high and shifting ever so subtly. So far I
have been enduring the weather without turning on the AC. But it has made my
shoebox of an apartment a sauna in the worst of conditions. Luckily, I bought a
brand new fan that sort of circulates the hot air about the room.
What’s this! Getting out this month’s episode ON
TIME? Has he gone crazy!? Somebody, STOP HIM! No, just found a lot of free time
after HAMLET and moving some things around the schedule. Enough of that for
now….
Anyways, let’s get started shall we?
1:[ First
Item of the Month:
You know, I think it's time I took a side, drew a line, made my opinion clear
in these sweeping on-going debates that have engulfed and divided our nation
recently.
Here goes: DC doesn't have to do shit like Marvel
did. Okay? Every one already knows the Justice League. A Batman-Superman film
is neither desperate, too-soon or too much. Two of the most recognizable worldwide
pop icons outside of Mickey Mouse? How are people NOT going to go see that
movie? I have said this before. The general public knows the Justice League. We
do not need a whole bunch of single movies to lead up to a JLA movie, we don’t.
Secondly, it’s Batman AND Superman, the two biggest
superheroes of all time in a single movie! No matter how much people criticize
this move on WB’s part, you ask those same geeks, “So, you’re NOT going to see
it then?” Most will say, “Nah, I’ll still go.”
So, all you have to say is “See? Why does it matter
what you think they did wrong, you’re going to see it anyway.”
You’re
welcome….
2:[ More Truthfulness
My Useless Self: Introversion
These “Truthfulness” items are geared toward
reveling more about myself as a way of confronting this particular thing as
well as helping build my courage up to reveal a bit more. So, here goes.
I do not know how many of you Dear Readers know
this about me, but I am an introvert. I am not an especially out-going person
and I keep to myself most of the time. I used to tell my Bonnie when we first
met up that “I liked being bored”, which I don’t think she believed at the time
but has come to accept that I like just being alone or with only my closest
friends.
Being introverted means that I do not talk much in
large groups. If I get to know you better I will be a more frequent speaker. My
family back home cannot get me to shut up. Which was another thing I told
Bonnie, “One of these days you are going to tell me to ‘shut up’.” She didn’t
believe me for a minute. Still, she and the girls tell me to shut up quite a
bit these days.
It takes a lot out of me to speak in front of large
crowds. At some of the more recent T7 events I was a part of folks would find
me sitting by myself mostly. Not out of any kind of rudeness, mostly to gear up
to talk to everyone up front of an audience. Yes, when I get my spoken word
piece finished, it is a MAJOR step for me to make myself workshop it in front
of an open mic crowd. My university class takes a lot out of me as well. But I
try to hide all of this. Sometimes, not so well, and sometimes, my throat hurts
for days after.
Being an introvert does not mean you hate meeting
new people. Just the opposite, but we would just rather meet new people on our
own terms. I hate meeting and being forced to interact with other people’s
friends that I do not know well. I feel uncomfortable. But I try for the sake
of my friends. Some of you have probably noticed that in a group of four or
more I will usually quiet down. It’s nothing against you. I just know that I do
not have to sustain the conversation then. I have even tried to combat this by
joining some Meet Up groups for things I am interested in, like writing and
MST3K. Some how, for me anyways, interacting with strangers who don’t know me
sort of puts me on an even field, you know?
Being an introvert does not make one an
agoraphobic. While, I do have a problem with vastly large crowds, I can hang in
there at a party or function for the sake of friends. Just do not expect me to
be the life of the party. Also, being an introvert does not make one
telepathic. I get this all the time, “We would have invited you but….”. Give us
quiet folk a chance to say “No, thank you”. That’s all. Plus, I am capable of
speaking to folks out of courtesy. We are not all desolate loners that need to
be isolated and silent. I am not a monk.
As you can see, as an introvert, I have no problem
writing out a lot of what I have to say. Also, you can tell how comfortable I
am with you by how much I speak to you and how highly I think of you by how
much I tease or joke with you. That’s all….
So, there, the Mystery of Being Ernest is gone….
Updates from my other Truthfulness Projects:
+ NAMELESS: The Authentic and Magical Ledger Art of EW3
A Treatise on
American Indian Art
“All you care about is money. This city deserves a
better class of artist. And I’m going to give it to them.”
I am working on getting another showing this fall
for this goofy ledger art project of mine. So stay tuned for that. Maybe I
should get going on it again. I just finished a rather simple sketch recently
and realized that I have not worked on anything in this project since January.
Wow.
Also, I think I will wrap up my Artist Statement. I
see a lot of new movement going on in the Native Arts world and while it is
nice to see some people trying differing things, the more they try to change,
the more they stay the same. I will set a deadline of September 15th
for this “Artist Statement” that is becoming an Editorial. The major problem
can be highlighted in the following quote.
“Quote the great man, ‘It’s not about money. It’s about sending a message…’.”
+ The Five Six SEVEN Hypocrisies of Native America:
(Because Seven is a sacred
number):
Never ceases to amaze me…. It never does. What we
do to each other and our culture is really crazy and sad….
+ ONE: A Spoken Word:
What I have been doing is trying to spread my
message and ideas around into various things such as this poem/spoken word
piece, the artist statement and the OP-EDs on the FNFVF website as they each
touch on different aspects of the same problem. Thus, this poem has become
another outlet for my opinions and the open mic aspect of it is to make myself
more open to speaking in public forums, especially with my opinions and ideals.
I have done public readings before with my poetry and feel comfortable enough
these days.
I am hoping to workshop this one in the following
months. It is really just a prose poem that I have been working on for close to
a year now. I am actively looking for open mics and workshops to be able to
read and improve this piece. If I “book a gig” I will most definitely let
everyone know.
NEXT MONTH’S TRUTHFULNESS: Ego and _____? Let me
know.
3:[ More MOVIE TIME ADVENTURES:
+ My Star Trek Into Darkness & Man
of Steel reviews are slow in coming mainly because, while they project the
major problems that genre films have today, the films themselves did not
resonate with me. So, my “reviews” will become more editorial in nature.
Meaning, that I will take my time with them and think about what I want to say
and how to use these films as the examples. If you are curious about how it
will look and read, take a peek at my “AVATAR Review” from a few years back.
I’ll post them once they are finished.
+ GI Joe: Retaliation
Review: I never really liked the first GI Joe movie. I loved the 80’s cartoon
and my brothers were fans of the 60-70’s “action figure”. But this one was a
bit better in pacing, actually too quick in pacing and it seemed a waste of the
cast they actually gathered. I hated the “RZA” trying to be a ninja master and
the whole mountainside fight seemed superfluous. I mean, we have never seen the
badassery of either Snake Eyes or Storm Shadow and their story arch just seemed
to overshadow the rest of it. But what do you expect? It’s an adaptation of a
kid’s cartoon. They definitely kill off Duke. Hahahahaha. I am waiting for
someone to mash-up the Duke death scenes from both the 90’s cartoon movie and
this one.
+ West of Memphis Review:
Very interesting documentary about the miscarriage of justice in the south as
three teens are tried and convicted of the murders of three small boys all
because they were outcasts and deemed “satanic”. You see the botch in the case
from the beginning and even the blindness of politicians long after the
evidence points to other suspects and the boys are released after a plea deal.
Strange case. Now, imagine if the boys were African-American. Would there even
be a documentary?
4:[ I am a big fan of the
large sculpture around Chicago, especially “Flamingo”, the big, orange sculpture
at Federal Plaza next to the downtown post office. I make a point of walking
under it no matter where I am heading when I pass by it. I feel that to do so,
to interact with the structure, you are a part of the art piece. So, I walk
under the aches and tap it whenever I pass by.
So, walking by there the other day, I noticed this
group of hard-bodied co-eds in skimpy shorts and tops doing calisthenics or
something in front of the post office. I was a gentleman and averted my eyes
and as I walked by overheard one say “Now, let’s get into our bikinis!” to
which I smiled and kept walking. But I looked around and saw that many, many
old dudes and mooks were gathering. I love human nature at work. I have no idea
what doing or why they were there. From their talk they seemed to be protesting
something. I just guess that from their idle chatter. I walked on but not
before being amused at all the fellas suddenly needing to step outside for a
smoke….
5:[ Ah yes, settle in Dear
Readers for more of:
Adventures at
the Coffee Shop!
+ It has been 12 months since I gave up coffee. I
find that I am only getting tea now days whenever I go to any coffee shop and
in all that time I learned one thing: tea is just as expensive as coffee….
+ So, Bonnie and myself went to our usual coffee
shop in Evanston. This day, the service was not quite up to snuff. All the
baristas were chatting it up and not even paying attention to an odd couple
such as us. I ordered a peppermint tea and a blueberry muffin and they totally
did not get my muffin. Bonnie ordered a “blonde” coffee and they said it would
take a minute to brew and soon, they simply forgot about it. I don’t know how
long it was but apparently talking to each other is more important than
Bonnie’s order. She felt that they forgot and I, for my part, defended them as
they said they needed to brew a batch. Bonnie was ready to go up and confront
them and I asked her to be nice which offended her.
So, Bonnie walked up and guess what? She was right.
They simply forgot in all of their chatter. It is amazing to me at how much
baristas do not pay attention. I know, they work hard, blah, blah, blah, it’s
rough. They are the backbone of the economy. But can they please pay attention
and listen to people? Shoot, what they are talking about is in no way that
interesting that they have to tell a customer, “Can you excuse me? I’m trying
to listen to my co-worker’s nonsense.”
Also, I always find it funny that baristas defend
the job they do. That is, until they leave it. Then it was the most horrible
thing ever. Then, it’s a work camp with a bunch of never-will-be’s making
Machiavellian maneuvers behind each other’s backs….
6:[ Honestly, I don’t think
dads get enough credit. I don’t think men in general are getting much credit
for their children and in general are being allowed to escape their parental
responsibility more and more, mainly due to many of the laws of the land
governing women’s reproductive rights and the like. But that is a discussion
for another time. I do love it when I see a dad going the extra mile for their
kids. For instance, I saw a dad today giving his little girl a lift on the street,
putting her up on his shoulders and walking down Rogers Avenue from Clark to
who knows where. The man just did it and did not seem tired at all. That’s damn
cool.
So, there was this Dad on the train the other day.
He got on the train pushing a stroller and with a girl and a boy in tow. The
oldest was the little girl, six or seven and the boy seemed to be five or so.
The baby was close to a year maybe. They got on at Belmont and it was crowded
so they all had to stand. He told the girl to hold on to the rail, the boy too,
but the stroller was in the doorway and he had to instruct the boy when and
where to move to as the train made each stop, so other passengers could get by.
The Dad never yelled. He never got on his cell phone. Never raised his voice or
got mad. He kept his cool. He talked with them the whole time too, answering
their questions and joking with them.
Now, it hit me that this Dad was a vet having to
learn his stuff with the two elder kids. At one point the baby started crying
and instead of flipping out, he reached into the backpack he was wearing and
pulled out the baby’s bottle and handed it over. The Dad knew. The baby started
nursing and went quiet. The Dad then reclined the stroller to let the baby fall
asleep, but the baby was having none of it. He kept sitting up. But again, the
Dad never flipped, kept his cool, and even when the baby wanted to put the
bottle down and was trying to get it into one of the molded bottle holders on
the stroller with his little baby hands, the Dad simply leaned over and helped
out. It was damn cool to see. The Dad kept his head and never yelled and kept
his eyes on all three kids.
I was planning to give him a fist bump as I passed
when I got off and tell him “You’re rocking the Dad Thing” but alas, they all
got off in an orderly fashion before I did. Still damn good to see a Dad in
action. We need to praise them more. So, Sir, wherever you are, “You rocked the
Dad Thing that day. I salute you.”
7:[ And now Wisdom of the
Sages presents:
“An Ever-growing List of Things That MUST Stop!”
+ Rude drivers: I always felt that we should equip
cars with absurdly huge, bumper car type bumpers and make it legal for people
to “tap” or gently push each others cars. If we can make a non-insurance deal,
I think courteous driving might grow if we are allowed to vent and nudge each
other about just a little bit. Can you imagine if someone tries to cut you out
of your parking space you are allowed to nudge them out of the way – no harm,
no foul?
+ I know I am behind the times but the term “baby
mama” has to stop – as well as its male counterpart “baby daddy”. Just, stop….
+ Crying over “Willis Tower” needs to stop. My
buddy Dave told me that “Willis Tower” was for all us “non-real Chicagoans.” I
replied that “Willis Tower” is for all of us that “got the f*ck over it
already.” I know, you’ve been calling it that since forever and it’s Chicago
tradition. But really, one faceless corporation’s name or another, it’s all the
same. Think of it this way: it is that same mentality that makes people to want
to keep the name “The Redskins” and use dancing Indians as their mascots….
8:[ I have been of late
re-watching the CCTV 2010 series “Three Kingdoms” based on my all-time favorite
book. It was produced after the movie “Red Cliff” as I see a lot of the same
sets being used, especially for the Chibi battle sequences. I love the
characterization of Cao Cao in this. The actor Chen Jianbin has done a great
job of humanizing him and steering him away from the wholly evil character of
past media incarnations. But what I love is the humor of the character, the
traits and most especially, how the character EATS! Yes, there are a lot of
banquets in the story but since the productions are limited in budget (re-used
sets and costumes) the characters never eat at these banquets. But, Cao Cao
eats.
Much like the book, once I watch an episode, I have
to watch the next. It is a lot like “Game of Thrones” with differing kingdoms
battling each other for supremacy of the land and there are surprising
character deaths with political backstabbing and marriages. It is a truly great
series that I highly recommend to any fan. The only downside is that to watch
it, you must either view it on YouTube or order the pricey DVD set (18 discs!)
and if you YouTube it, you have to endure the stupid side-taking of the commentators.
Seek it out and give it a try….
9:[ From the “This Just In” Department: As it turns
out “Start Trek Into Darkness” was recently ranked by Trekkies at the 2013 Star
Trek Convention as The Worst Star Trek Movie. Surpassing even the Shat-fest
that was “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier”!
This gives me a ray of hope for genre movies in the
future. My in-the-works review of Into Darkness is subtitled “Geeks F*cking
Ruin Everything” and now I may have to amend it to “Geek PANDERING F*cking
Ruins Everything”. Wait. No. Geeks are ruining comic book movies now. They
ruined “Star Wars”, “The Terminator”, “Aliens”, John Carpenter; you name it.
Geek Audiences have had an indelible hand in ruining beloved franchises with
their stupid nostalgic buffoonery that executives buy into and ruin the
integrity of movies.
10:[ Last Item of the Month: MY JURY DUTY EXPERIENCE – Sorry folks, I
was denied a chance to dispense my unique brand of justice as I did my civic
duty and reported for jury duty for the first time in my entire life. I guess
this makes me a real Chicago citizen at long last, whatever that means. So,
about a month ago, I got my summons and last week went downtown and submitted
for jury pool like hundreds of other saps. Here are my observations:
+ They really try to sell you on it being the “most
important part of our American justice system”.
+ I was assigned to the “Smiling Judge”.
+ Everyone in the jury pool suddenly became lawyers
in their shared inconvenience.
+ One of the jury members was asked if knowing that
the defendant was a corporation would bias them in any way. He replied that he
is of the belief that corporations are not a person and that they had a decided
advantage in lawyers and resources that defending them selves against a private
citizen would bias him, as he would instantly root for the underdog, right or
wrong. I was so happy someone said this and I was going to shake his hand and tell
him I thought he did the right thing. We were both not picked to serve and sent
back to the jury pool room. While I was let go for the day, the fella was
picked to go on another jury panel, poor guy. They probably made him stay all
day for what he said….
+ I am not going to tell you about the case because,
honestly, it was pretty boring.
So there, I did my civic duty and was out of there.
I will not be called again for at least a year they said but I know folks who
were recalled quicker than that. Also, you cannot hide from jury duty. Once you
get your driver’s license you are in the system….
That will do it for this month.
I know, right, on time for a change? Who knew? As
always, I invite you to comment, critique, correct or contradict any item here.
Please, no side-taking, political nonsense though. Politics is for dummies and
the worst thing ever invented by humanity. But please, do not let me have the
last word. In anything. I’ll allow it….
Until Next Time, “I try to show the schemers how
pathetic their attempts to control everything really are.”
2013 Ernest M. Whiteman III
