WISDOM
OF THE SAGES
EPISODE X: FALL 2016
EPISODE X: FALL 2016
Hello People of the
World;
Here we are again
in the deep fall month of October, the month of wood smoke, pumpkin pie, and
Halloween. The temperatures are dipping, as we get closer to the winter months.
By which I mean that as the world slowly rotates, we are all at once, once
again, caught unawares of the slow turning of the earth, and, being impotent to
it, can do nothing but complain when it grows colder. Or we pretend that we
like the colder months as if that offers us some sort of power over Nature
itself. Right.
We are also 10 days
from the most Earth shattering, world ending election ever. But is it an
election, really? I mean, there are worse things happening and all we seem to
care about is the Cubs in the World Series. Oh well.
Let’s get this
month’s edition started, shall we?
1:[ I am glad I did not have
a television for over eight years. Coming back from that perspective, I can say
that one hundred percent of television now is garbage. Yeah, garbage. There is
nothing redeeming about it. Sure, there was "Mystery Science Theater
3000", which I am hypocrite enough to say is my all-time favorite
television show. But looking at the landscape with refreshed eyes, I can say
that television in garbage.
Sure, I hear you,
that it is “only entertainment”, but I am surprised at just the sheer tonnage
of "entertainment" we feel we are entitled to.
Here is what I
learned getting a functioning television again:
- I have learned
that all TV shows are garbage, even the vaunted shows of old, I mean, look at
how crappy and “same” all those old westerns were, the ideals they promoted,
the shitty stories, and shallow characters? How most cop shows espoused War on
Drugs Propaganda, how old shows depicted certain types of characters, all
wrapped up in cheaply made, stodgily writ programs that were made to show your
kids that conformity is key to a blessed life, but only for certain kids.
- How much of a
fucking creep was Richard Dawson, seeing him leaning to kiss all those cowering
women and who feel violated enough without their men, whom are standing right
next to them, impotent, and doing nothing. I find it amazing how much rich,
white celebrities have gotten away with this shit for decades. Remember, when
Bob Barker was accused of sexually harassing Dian Parkinson (I bet you even
forgot her name!), fucker skated because: we loved him. She was not the only
one, there are still accusers coming out! David Letterman? He says liberal
stuff we all agree with, so he gets to skate too, because it is none of our
business. Shit, the President of the United States? We have such huge
hypocritical double standards. We just never can admit to ourselves what
hypocrites we are. Richard Dawson was I letch.
- I have learn that
24 hour news is horrible and not actually news. To paraphrase Hank Green, it is
nothing more than, maybe 5 minutes of some semblance of news, with about 23
hours and 55 minutes of pundits telling you their opinion of that news and ads.
Which is the real reason for television, to keep your eyes right where they
want it, on the screen, any screen, just so they can advertise to you.
-“Star Trek
Voyager” was vastly underrated…
2:[ We really have let media,
especially movies, be our guiding star on The Future for too long. I mean that
it sets us up for such disappointment that when “Back to the Future 2” did not
happen, we decided that we should not bother.
Because of movies
we feel like we are owed such stupid things like Hoverboards, even though they
will NEVER work like skateboards do, because: physics. How about Flying Cars? I
mean, my big brother Dalco pointed out the biggest barrier to this when he
asked this simple question: what will you do when your engine stalls. Shit, the Jet packs we have now are
garbage compared to what we want in reality. Sorry, but it will not be ready
until we find a way of not burning your ass to a cinder.
Shows such as Star
Trek and Big Bang Theory, seem to promise such realistic goals of sci-fi tech,
but in reality, both are two ends of this spectrum. One shows us a future where
transporting beams are real even though it will reduce you to an infantile
state every time, because of the chemical processes of how the brain actually
works, will reset with every transport. The Big Bang Theory only shows you how
science fails your love life, nothing else. Look, real science is boring and
deals with the minutia of the universe… not toys and gadget to make us lazier…
How do we react
when we do get the realized versions of movie sci-fi gadgetry? We killed the
electric car because we do not have the patience enough to perfect them. We
fall for the propaganda of car companies that do not want you to not buy gas,
instead focus on the one time an electric car caught fire and ignore the 20,000
daily car crashes. Now, we have Self-driving cars and people are freaking for
no fucking reason. Because they do not look like space ships or some shit. Media
has altered our expectations, as we hope for easier, lazier lives.
Which is why we are
afraid to fight for our rights. We have been tamed with comforting idealized
gadgetry. Putting us all in a state where we care more about the newest phone
rather than the actual cost in human suffering to bring it to you. I hear right
now, “But, but we have self-lacing shoes… uh, soon.”
Only a year late,
and, really, for all our technological advancements, that is the shit we are wanting
most, the one accomplishment you wanted science to make, shoes you don’t have
to tie. I am sorry, but we have had those already, for centuries. They are
called slippers….
3:[ So, I am now in the habit
of carrying around a plastic bag so the cashiers do not have to give me a new
one every time I buy something at the store. Takes no effort really and I am
not the kind of person to ever think, “I’m saving the planet doing this”
because how fucking egotistical is that? I mean, why cry around about k-cups
and recycling plastic bottles like that does something, when there are folks
getting their heads bashed because they do not want a pipeline that will break
and poison a water system? I digress.
So, there I was in
the Walgreens picking up a snack before I visited Bonnie and Char, a tea and a
bag of chips. I walk up Teen Beat behind the counter who rings up my purchase.
I also drop the bag I carry and plop it on the counter and while I dig out my
wallet to pay, he just stands there until my purchase is complete. Then, there
is a moment of silence before he finally points at my stuff on the counter,
then to the bag and asks, "You want me to put these in there?"
Yeah, I thought was
the whole gaddamned point! It is called doing you’re fucking job you dummy….
4:[ HELL OR HIGH WATER :
Review (SPOILERS)
I took in this
Recommended and highly reviewed flick with my new friend. It is about two
brothers who rob banks and the two Texas Rangers trying to catch them. Chris
Pine and Ben Foster play the brothers with one being the calm, rational brother
and the other the shout-y, cartoony-accented criminal one. Can you guess which
is which? Once Ben Foster opened his mouth to speak, my first thought was
"He dies".
Jeff Bridges plays “Jeff
Bridges being a Texas Ranger” who is on the trail of the two brothers, who have
so far robbed the banks without hurting or harming anyone. At his side is
Trusty Indian Sidekick played by Gil Birmingham. Bridges proceeds to insult him
for his mixed heritage of Mexican and Native American.
As the brothers'
escapes get narrower and narrower, the Texas Rangers do nothing but follow them
around while one endures the insults of the other. Then, as the climax happens,
my guess is proven out. The handsome brother lives, as does the white Texas
Ranger because: Jeff Bridges.
Honestly, this
should have ended earlier than it did but we have to have the manly-talk
showdown. As you can probably tell, I did not really care for this one. It was
very cliché-ridden and in our post-viewing talk of western clichés it was
postulated that the writers went into this film aware of the cloches and were
trying to subvert them. I believe the western clichés are so engrained that
this could not be the case. In our discussion we talked about The Searchers,
the Native/Mexican insults, and the death of the Indian sidekick. I guess that
in a postmodern, revisionist western, doing the cliché is somehow subverting
the cliché, but, in my estimation, you are still doing the cliché. I feel that
in the end, the movie itself is not worthy of such a deep conversation.
I also got the
sense of privilege that only white guys are allowed to get away with crimes. It
was that same sense of privilege I got from "Warrior", with Tom Hardy
and What’s-His-Face, that only those who have accomplished the "American
Dream" are allowed to maintain it, "by any means". I wish it
went with the idea of juxtaposition of the two brothers. Where the clean-cut
one becoming the frantic, rush-addicted criminal nearly ruining his own plan and
the criminal brother develops a sense of justice. So much for complexity.
There is so much
more that should be written about this movie's weaknesses, such as Native
Identity appropriation, Native reductionism, and the erasure of Native
histories. But the more I think on it, I feel it has not earned that level of
discourse. Again, I am reminded of Langston Hughes poem. And that says it all
for me….
I know it is
getting all sorts of great reviews. It was good, but bothersome to me.
LOW RECOMMENDATION;
See it if you want. You will probably love it.
5:[ Fuck the Cubs, can I say
that just once? It’s only baseball.
"As Huxley
remarked in 'Brave New World Revisited', the civil libertarians and
rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost
infinite appetite for distractions"." Neil Postman, from the
Forward to "Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of
Show Business"
6:[ Let’s face it, if Trump
wins, we’re not going to do anything but bitch and complain on Facebook. We do
not want to give up our cushy university gigs to get out in the streets to
fight tyranny, if tyranny happens at all; not when we have papers to grade, or
short stories to write, not when there is ledger arts to be made, or tee shirts
to sell by leaching it onto a social cause. Certainly not if the Cubs win….
7:[ The Secret Lies of Pets –
Part Two
How much more can
we dominate a species than to subjugate them to our will? I am talking Dogs,
who have basically become our “Love Slaves”. I mean, let’s face it, we keep
them only to make them “love us” and become dependent on us. We regimen their
food, their activity, their piss breaks, all so we can condition them to obey
us, to love us. We are their white gods.
Not only that, we
neuter them! Holy fuck! We cut off their testicles and tie their tubes, and
they HAVE NO CHOICE IN THAT! We subject them to forced sterilization! How much
more can you really dominate a species than not allowing them to fuck? Then we
are hypocrite enough to cry for body control as a “human” right because it
affects only us. We are fucking monsters when it comes to mastery over our pets
reproductive rights.
Face it, the real
reason we make a big deal about runaway dogs and cats is because we know, in
our heart of hearts, they will be all right on their own. Shit, they will most
likely thrive by being back in the wild. Their running away only proves that they
don’t need us to live. But we need this grossly one-sided relationship because
we want to pretend we actually love these animals, to pretend to treat them as
“family.”
Then we have the
fucking audacity to REPLACE THEM when they die. Sure, we will cry and post
pictures and remembrances on Facebook and call them “family”, but eventually, sooner
or later, we will get new dogs. Why? Because we need their total and complete
adoration, so we can pat ourselves on the back as if because we subjugated an
animal, we are somehow “saving” them from the hellish nightmare of being
themselves, loose in the wild. Sorry, I cannot replace my family that easily,
not my brother or mom and dad, not so easily…
We are the monsters
they are terrified of disappointing. Think about that….
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
