AUGUST - EPISODE VIII: SUMMER 2016

WISDOM OF THE SAGES
EPISODE VIII: SUMMER 2016

Hello People of the World;

Well, the end of the year grows ever closer. We here are stuck in the humid wastelands that are the Chicago summers. One of the things I have been thinking about lately is how much we think that the weather is somehow this mysterious being that is uncontrollable yet we still want it to do what we want.

Yet, with all the unusual weather of late and we attribute it to ancient myth or the apocalyptic “Climate Change”, but when you sit back and really try to understand it, all it is the disruption of global weather energies by man-made interference. We should rebrand it “Global Weather Disruption” but that does not have the “Leave It Be” theme Republicans hate nor does it have the “We’re all gonna die!” panic Democrats love. So, we will continue to bitch about it because it gets hot in the summer.

Let’s get this month’s edition started, shall we?

1:[ But seriously, since having access to a TV with a digital tuner, in which I can now watch regular over-the-air programming, I have come to realize a few things about the medium after not having direct access to it after 8 years (!):

- I am so fucking happy that I do not have satellite or cable access to 24-hour news because every time I have seen it playing in restaurants or the Dunkin Donuts, it have been simply awful. Hank Green of the Vlog Brother said that the 24 hour news is nothing more than 10 minutes of any actual news a day with the rest of it filled with everyone’s OPINIONS about the news, which is designed to keep your eyes on the screen, where THEY WANT THEM, just so they can advertise to you. I agree with that assessment after seeing the news on the TV in the Dunkin Donuts.

- How shitty TV shows from even our most hallowed “Golden Era” really were. (Westerns & Game Shows, even The Tonight Show with Carson!)

- That “Star Trek: Voyager” was horribly underrated…

2:[ I have come to realize that the real reason I am not getting hired for all the film office/media related jobs that I applied for these past few months is but for the simple fact that I refuse to wear plaid shirts….

3:[ I really have to shake my head at all those sanctimonious “dog lovers” who waggle their finger at others about how they treat their pets, posting memes of pets tied outside with the label of “prisoner” as if their concern will suddenly free that animal. They go on about how they treat their own pets, specifically dogs, and how the dog loves them for it and they would never betray that love by “GASP!” tying them outside! For shame!

But they never once stop to think: Pets, Dogs, specifically, are the ultimate GMO. Humans have specifically bred dogs to behave in the way they do – to “love” us unconditionally. Yes, we have bred them to love and worship us and we have the fucking gall to act like that is the most natural thing, when it is not! It is basically a survival mechanism that we have instilled and encouraged through millennia of breeding. Animals instinctively know that by behaving in certain ways – docile, cuddly, “friendly”, that they get food, water, shelter, and possibly, access to mates.

We even pick our dogs based on compatibility and fucking cuteness! We have then bred those adaptive genes towards cute looks and friendly behaviors into their broods and offspring, genes that have made them love and worship us unconditionally. Then we have the fucking gall to act like it is the most natural thing.

Dogs especially, are pack animals. For centuries, they survived in packs. That is why they form an attachment to their “owners”. (How hypocritical that we still call ourselves that. I thought all you progressive dog owners were above that.) They have the instinct bred into them to behave in certain manners and to stick with the pack. That is all. It is Forced Selection over thousands of generations of dogs. Then we have the fucking gall to act like it is the most natural thing.

We keep dogs for our solace and comfort. Their solace and comfort is just a happy by-product.

If you really want to see what a true dog was like before we got to them, try and bring a gray wolf home to live with you and see if it loves and worships you because you take it runs and feed it organic kibble. Only then will see how much a genetically modified organism a hungry, pliant dog really is. At the very least, you will end up tying it outside because that fucker will try to eat your babies. You will see then just how much we really fucked up their gene pool.

By the way, do you want GMO labels on your food? First, put them where they really have done some actual damage. Put GMO labels on your pets….

4:[ Let’s be honest, as a Presidential Candidate, Trump appears to be the most deplorable, terrible choice. But as David Letterman stated, the “Founding Fathers” would look on his election and go “Yep, that is how we designed it to work. Good luck with that.”

Being more honest, the “Anti-Trump” Fear Mongering has been the best emotional blackmail that is absolutely Trump-esque in execution. Fear of electing a possible “fascist” has basically corralled most democrats into backing a PRE-DETERMINED candidate and into voting against their staunches principles and core beliefs. IS this not the very definition of “fascism”?

Man, what the Democratic National Committee did to their base, which overwhelmingly supported Sanders, would make Trump blush, because, say what you will about his ugly and vicious nature, at the very least, he was democratically elected…

5:[ Flying home to and from Wyoming was very interesting to say the least. First I had to fly out of Chicago to Detroit, which was in the opposite direction. From there, I flew to Salt Lake City, which is way past where I had to go. Then, I had to fly into Casper, with is about ninety miles from home.

But it was the trip back to Chicago that was pretty hectic. First, I had to fly out of Casper to Salt Lake City. There the flight was delayed due to Chicago weather. I do not mind delays. It comes with the territory of traveling. And, as Louis CK says, “then you are sitting in a chair in the sky. It’s a miracle.”

But as an introvert with claustrophobic tendencies, sitting in a cramped plane for an hour and not moving can get pretty cringy, to borrow a term.

Once the fly took off, the funny thing was, due to weather patterns, we flew right over Riverton, my hometown, and Casper! Funny. Once we got into Illinois air space we hit the storm we wanted to avoid for a bit. The plane dipped and shook and it was fun to see everyone get serious and quiet. A young woman will palsy squeaked out and for some reason it maddened me that everyone reacted to it as if it was something weird.

The sad thought that hit me while this turbulence was happening also hit me while we were sitting on the runway waiting for clearance to take off: everyone was exasperated that we did not take off exactly when they wanted to, that they never realize that if we took off too early and hit the storm we could have crashed. The sadder thought that went through my head was that if we did crash, all anyone would have cared about was the Australian High School Orchestra that on board at the time….

6:[ The recent visit home for a family function made me appreciate the family I have around me as well as those I have not seen in a while. I made connections with relatives I have not had before and I appreciated the wisdom of my brothers and sisters. Plus, they were just plain goofy as any family is but it is my family’s brand of goofy. I miss and love them all and I hope to be back as soon as possible. Or maybe, they might deem it fit to come out and see me…

That is it for this month. As always, I invite you to comment, correct, or contradict anything I write here. I am open to a critical debate. Thanks for taking the time to check out what I write here and I will see you in a month.

Until next time, remember “I try to show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control everything really are.”

2016 Ernest M Whiteman III