Hello People of the World;
Here we are in the month of May, spring and what do
you know? In cutest, whiny kid voice: “It’s co-wd!”
I have heard someone talking about how we are seriously misrepresenting Climate
Change as “Global Warming”. For many, it is easier to debunk a straw man like
“Global Warming” because, guess what? It still gets cold in winter and it’s
still cold now in spring.
It is wrong because Climate Change is about the
irregular distribution of energies in the atmosphere that causes our irregular
weather. Which is why we get “Polar Vortexes” instead of Warm Winters. It is
not about the rise in temperature overall but about how the energies in the
atmosphere are being disrupted causing snows in the desert and long winters and
intense heat waves and droughts. So, we need to reset our information bubbles
to include the discussion of Climate Energy Disruption and NOT “Global
Warming”.
What I’m saying is: in any case, bitching about how
cold it still is will not affect the weather suddenly and make it spring-like.
Besides, I know that the one day it gets relatively “Spring-like” you will
bitch about how hot it is.
Let’s get this edition started, shall we?
1:[ First
Item of the Month:
I really should record these long monologues that I have been doing a lot of
lately. Remember, how I wrote before that I am a long thinker, I have all these
long conversations in my head where I am able to tell people what I think or
feel or I solve the world’s greatest crisis and then they slip from my head. So,
lately, the Internet or Facebook has been setting me off with all of our
hypocritical stances on a lot of things. So, I have been prone to giving these
long-winded responses to comments or questions that rip the people apart or
solves the problem or shames them with my fine retort. After one involving,
something, I don’t remember, I thought, I should have recorded that, if only to
hear how absolutely wrong and insane I am….
2:[ My Truthfulness Stuffs:
My Useless Self: Ego &
HAMLET
I guess it is egotistical to want to direct and
star in any adaptation of HAMLET. Many have been asking me why ever since I
announced the project, actually, not then, but after I actually got a short
film from the footage I have turned camera on. People simply cannot believe that
I would be able to get away with making Hamlet a Northern Arapaho man. That’s
my ego too.
It seems very egotistical to even explain why I am
doing a HAMLET movie but I feel that I need to explain my Commitment to HAMLET:
I am moving the mountain. Let me clarify. What I am trying has never been done
and what I hope to achieve for Native representation in film is very subtle.
But in essence, it is like moving a mountain. Sure, there are quick routes to
fame and exposure that are typically small hills, then, there are shortcuts to
fame that are more like the ski lifts that carry your lazy ass to the top. What
I am trying to do is move the mountain closer for other Natives to try to
climb.
There is also an element of appropriating something
traditional and cultural from the over-culture and making it Native that just
sings irony to me. I want to do this. I hope some of my friends can help me
move the mountain closer. How egotistical is that?
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 looking for places that will put up my ledger
art project. So far, nothing. I wonder why “art” always has this sort of
“legitimacy price tag” attached to it? I mean that at this one venue that
invited the festival to come back anytime they would be there to provide a
venue. They house musical performances, movies, and more. They said, if I had
anything personally that they could house, they would “absolutely do it.”
I told them, “I have an art show.”
“Um, well, about that….” It seems that all the
artists they house for shows have all these stupid demands and they impose some
sort of restrictions on other shows going on. Mine? None at all. In fact, I am
looking for a grant that will fund me buying a digital printer and a thousand
dollar store frames and I will just give all my prints away. Easy-peezy. But,
since “art” has to be “bought” and “sold” to be legitimate, no venue is willing
to let put up my game-changing ledger art show.
To 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):
Yeah, let’s all camp out in stereotypical tepees
and wear headdresses because we think it will make them take us seriously and
scream at them because they think that they can wear headdresses too because
they fucking see us doing that. On top of that, let’s camp sooooo far away from
the actual problem area because that makes it appear that we are doing
something when we are only waving the rebel flag so people can us waving the
rebel flag.
Fuck, why not just add your numbers to those facing
down those rifles, rigs and pipeline builders.
“NO! Because that would be DOING SOMETHING!”
NEXT MONTH’S
TRUTHFULNESS:
Ego and
_____?
Let me know what I should
cover next in my series on Truthfulness.
3:[ More MOVIE TIME ADVENTURES: Well, it is about time I got out to the
movie theaters and catch some flicks on the ol’ big screen, don’t you think?
Thanks to a small windfall I was able to go out and see stuff that actually
interested me. You will notice there are no comic book movies in this month’s
selections.
+ The very first movie I caught this year was
Hitchcock’s ROPE, about two young men who kill their friend and have a dinner
party over the body to prove that the elite can be allowed to murder. What is
great is that this was not only Hitchcock’s first film in color, but he
experimented with real time by shooting the film in eight, ten-minute takes to
craft a play of a movie. I love it. It was the very first Hitchcock movie I saw
because I was, at one point, interested in real time movies like “Timecode” and
“Nick of Time”. One of my college films was supposed to me a real time short
called “5 minutes”. Anyway, I recommend this.
I had thought I missed it at the Music Box but
found that it was part of a Hitchcock matinee series they are running and was
able to catch it. Great movie.
+ Later the same week, I went and saw, also at the
Music Box, “Jodorowsky’s Dune”, a documentary about Alejandro Jodorowsky’s
attempt at filming a cerebral, intelligent and psychedelic vision of Frank
Herbert’s Dune novel. I found it very inspirational. The man pour his soul and
creativity and gathered great talent (Giger, Dali, Welles and more) to him to
see his vision through only to be rejected for being himself. To see the vast
amount of work that went into the film, casting, art production,
pre-visualization, all in a time BEFORE Star Wars (1973) and to have studio
after studio reject it because, while they loved everything else and could see
making the movie, they simply did not trust the director. Sad, really.
To see Jodorowsky’s heartbreak, still fresh today
as he derides the studio system is mesmerizing. It is funny, eloquent and very
touching. It touched me as a filmmaker and makes me want to make movies. There
is a sequence where they play clips from well-known sci-fi movies side-by-side
with storyboards is jaw-dropping. I would say every sci-fi film since has
ripped the guy off. He states at one point every studio had a copy of his book
of the complete storyboards and production designs. That made me think.
What was truly inspiring, besides Jodorowsky’s rant
was the ending, where they described the ending of their Dune film, which was
changed from the book but resonated deeper meanings, “I am Paul”, a change
across the universe…. No one gets “Why HAMLET” but if they saw this
documentary, they would get it. Soon, every Native American-made movie
afterwards will be saying, “I am Hamlet!”
My pick for Best of 2014. Highest recommendation.
+ Another one I saw at the Music Box was Blue Ruin
about a homeless drifter seeking revenge on someone who wronged him. It is very
good, NOT what it is advertised and turned everything about a revenge story on
its head in the first act! I saw this with Bon and Char and we all enjoyed it.
Char was talking about it the whole way home and we love bringing that to her.
She also loved the Music Box. I’m going to see the original Godzilla there
today! Stay tuned.
+ Our long national crisis is over: the new Star
Wars Movie will not include the Expanded Universe! AWESOME! It’s dreck and
nonsense.
But alas: NO WEDGE! Strike One Star Wars….
+ So I saw the 1954 Toho version of Gojira today. It
is a great allegory of post-atomic Japan that is lost more and more with every
single re-telling. Sure, you can laugh at the puppetry and the effects, decades
later, but if you sit up and pay attention, beneath are harsh critiques of the
US' use of power in the era depicted. It is excellent in every way. Stick with
the original. Please.
4:[ Bread and Circuses: I am
always amazed at how quickly we all rise to defend rich, white people: us, the
poor masses. Just like we rushed to defend Taylor Swift from Kayne, so much so,
we still hate Kayne do this day even though he has not gone through the
stereotypical “Famous Black Man Route”, he was just rude and hugely
egotistical… worse yet, he expressed a contrary opinion and we bought into the
public vilification of him. Sure, he’s egotistical and maybe a fool for
marrying into the Kardashians, but that was all part of the plan for a rich
Black man cannot have opinions!
Or when we rushed to help poor little Jennifer
Aniston after her break-up. Look, she’s fine. She’ll be birthing another
privileged child soon. Yet, there we were calling Jolie a “man stealer” and
“home wrecker” all because Brad Pitt chose to bail. Now, here we are basking in
the glow of Brangelina. Shoot, even Lance Armstong we defended. He cheated and
we defended him. Why? Because: entertained. Most recently, we all rushed to Stephen
Colbert’s side, so much so, that we all missed the actual point of his skit…
and vilified an Asian woman. Classy….
5:[ Ah yes, settle in Dear
Readers for more of:
Adventures in
the Coffee Shop and/or on the CTA!
+ Just the other day, while enjoying an iced green
tea at the DD downtown, did I finally hear that “Call Me, Maybe” song that
everyone was losing their shit about some time ago. You know what? I liked it.
I thought it was pretty good. But, for the life of me, right now, I cannot
remember how it goes…
+ The Dude on the train that is on the phone saying
he’ll be right there and getting off when he sees chicks on the opposite
platform….
+ I just overheard “You don’t have to be totally
racist to express your opinion.” No, not at all, just being partially racist
will be fine…. Right?
6:[ Bread and Circuses Part
Two: Steroids in Sports – A while back, I was unexpectedly asked what I thought
about the whole “Lance Armstrong Controversy”. My reply was I did not keep
track of cycling as a sport, but still, he cheated. Enough said. One of my
co-workers then stated, before I could explain, “But it happens in all sport
that you almost expect it.”
Sure, but that type of expectancy should never
excuse it. We want to forgive Armstrong simply because he entertained us with
his wins, plus, we were the ones that made him famous by rallying around him.
We simply cannot be wrong for supporting a cheater. We paid for his LIFE STRONG
products, donated to his causes, and we all bought into his legacy, all the time
he was cheating to win.
That it “happens in every sport” is a stupid stance
to take because steroids are never done to excel at the skills of the game but
to excel at the fame and fortune being good at the sport always brings. They
all want to be on the Wheaties box and have Nike deals. We will forgive them
because we know deep down inside they did it. They cheat because we would hate
them otherwise. We would hate them if they did not hit all the home runs, score
all the touchdowns, lift the heaviest weights, win the gold medals, or get the
fastest times. We would hate them. We want to be entertained even if they are
cheating because cheating’s acceptance favors our entertainment…
7:[ And now Wisdom of the
Sages presents:
“An Ever-growing List of Things That MUST Stop!”
+ Old Dudes still going to concerts in pubs and
getting on the el and trying to hang out like they are still young. With the
typical short dude that is trying to impress the requisite “good-looking”
member of the group (What’s up with that?) but ends up de-evolving into
discussions on if their daughter is supposed to go to school tomorrow or not.
Pathetic, just stop dudes….
+ Using the term “Feels” to describe an emotional
moment. Man, use you brain and describe the feeling! Make an effort! Mad, sooo
sad, glee, happy, rage, it’s simple! How ironical is it that we describe such
an emotional outburst with a word that actually suppresses the expression?
Turning honest emotions into SnapChat-Twit-Face lingo. That shit must stop….
+ Hipsters saying they are trying to “blend in with
the Hipsters….”
8:[ So, I have been looking
for an A&W here in Chicago and found one on 55th and State way
south of here. But I have been lucky enough to have a school site nearby and a
couple of FNFVF events take place nearby as well as a HAMLET location or two in
the area. So, the other day, I finally went to the A&W in Chicago. Now,
every time I passed it I would change my mind about going there and most times
it was simply a question of money. It has been some time since I ate at an
A&W. There is one, (still?) in Thermopolis, a goof hour or so from our
home. But they have root beer on tap and it is something I wanted to check out.
So, the other day, getting ready for a FNFVF at the
nearby Lutheran School of Theology, I happened to be by and decided to go in
and get a meal. This particular one is a combo building with KFC and is the
only one in the entire state as far as I know. (I’m probably wrong.) I go in
and it is empty. It is humid and hot with no AC at all. IT was one of the warm
days last week. The counter was covered in safety glass with little openings to
slide the food through.
I order a teen burger and fries. I get my stuff and
head to the root beer tap and overfill it with foam. But I take a seat at a
table and the staff watches me like I am crazy. The warmth makes me eat faster
and I sip my drink to stay cool but not to finish it too soon. So, once I
finish the food I take my drink with me and as I ready to leave a CTA bus pulls
up to the stop right outside the store and I rush to get in line. I realize
that I still have my drink and so I gulp it down quickly to not have one more
thing to carry on the bus. I am already carrying a camera bag, my man purse and
the huge FNFVF mobile banner. But gulping it down means I will not have a cool
drink for later. Plus, the root beer is AWESOME.
I am now standing there in line with an empty cup.
I see that there is a trashcan just a step away (a mere step!). So, I take that step and throw the empty cup into the
trashcan and turn to get on the bus.
The CTA bus takes off without me. It rolled out
without even finishing closing its doors. I turned to face the bus and, “vrrroooooom”, there it went. So, I was
stuck at the bus stop on a warm day without a cold drink. The hamburger and
fries were okay. Standard fare. But that root beer was awesome….
9:[ From the “This Just In” Department: Here is our
first glimpse of Ben Affleck as the Batman and all the hypocritical geeks will
love it. I am quite probably going to see the movie, to plunk down my cash and
sit and watch it. So, I am not complaining. I’ll save that for legitimate
reasons AFTER seeing the movie….
10:[ Last Item of the Month: “Fuck “Hot Doug’s” Can we say that just
once? Fuck “Hot Doug’s”. I mean that. I don’t care that he’s closing. Good, one
less “Authentic” “Chick-KAH-Go” hot dog place. There are soooo many “AUTHENTIC”
Chicago hot dog places that it has lost all meaning to be one.
Please, don’t call it a “tradition” either. It is
just a fucking hot dog place. That’s it. It is that attitude, that “tradition”
of beatifying nonsensical things that keeps the “Redskins” a team name and The
Chief dancing at student rallies. Traditions are never what they started out to
be. Never. Things change. Traditions are dead people’s baggage. Let’s stop
carrying it, huh?
“Hot Doug’s” is just another affluent-hipster
gathering spot in an area where they can pretend they belong, when it’s just
another version of “slumming it.” (Like all of Hipsterism.) So, fuck “Hot Doug’s”.
Let it close….
That will do it for this month.
GASP! Now it is warm! Oh-Em-Gee! At the time of
this writing, it has warned significantly. Yeah, it got what we realists call
“Warmer” and I was right, people freaked the f*ck out. “It’s like Summer just
slapped us in the face.” Because we are so special that the weather should
adjust to us, right? Oh well. When the temper drops again, please, say nothing.
For all of us….
Feel free to comment, correct, or contradict
anything you read of mine. It just does not do to head one side of things. I
typically do not respond to comments, unless they make outrageous claims.
Usually, I don’t to give two sides of an issue. So, please, write a comment. If
it’s not a stupid comment and makes a valid point, or even if it doesn’t, I’ll
share it. Just do it already. Geez.
Until Next Time, “I try to show the schemers how
pathetic their attempts to control everything really are.”
2014 Ernest M. Whiteman III
