WISDOM
OF THE SAGES
EPISODE VII: SUMMER 2017
EPISODE VII: SUMMER 2017
Hello
People of the World;
Well,
summer has finally reared its muggy, ugly head. Much to the surprise of the
entire human race, caught again flatfooted and unawares that the earth turns
and that some times, typically between May and September, the northwestern
section slowly rotates and faces this nearly invisible light in the sky we call
“The Sun”. Oh well. I guess we all can’t be scientists.
Here
we are again in the patriotic of months, July. Nothing really new to report
here, to celebrate America’s independence, I get a lease sign by a bunch of old
white atheists and never honor the bargains we made with the people whose
houses we moved into without asking them. Then we make up all the rules and the
system of laws that make sure that those folks never get their house back and
when we aren’t killing them into oblivion, we are spreading diseases among
them, killing off their resources, and forcing them to live on specific spots
in their own back yards; never once acknowledging that they are even humans
because 4th of July, dammit.
All
right, let’s get going:
1:[ MY TALKS WITH BONN: The biggest topic, which
now seems current and happening that Bonn and I have been talking about lately
is the Rapid Decline of HBO’s “Games of Thrones”. We agree that since the
FratBros that run the show ran out of George RR Martin’s material they just
have not been up to snuff in their own writing to keep the tone, characters,
and story consistent at all.
I
lost interest after season five and I still feel that Jon Snow coming back was
stupid. It took away any sort of real threat to the characters because he was a
fan favorite. Worse, he was resurrected because show fans thought he was the
prophesized prince, or some such. Which leads to another shitty weakness of the
show now; we need fiction to stop telling us to believe that prophecy is true.
It’s dumbing down the very great anti-war, aint-religious aspects of the
original novels. Sure, there is magic in them, I hear you saying that, but
magic is not religion, it is the farce of religion.
All
of the characters stopped acting like their characters. Arya, Sansa, Jon,
Cersei, Danyres, Tyrion, most especially Jamie, who was up to this point a
graduated character having seen past his violent nature, excised his past, and
had grown as a enlightened character is now just a rubbish character.
Preston
Jacobs, a YouTube critic of the series had this take – that the showrunners,
D&D, are good thematic writers but awful logical writers. Danyres going to
Drangonstone is good thematic writing, its’ her birthplace, it’s associated with
dragons, but make absolutely NO LOGICAL SENSE since she got there without being
seen, sailing right past Kings Landing only to be defeated by Euron’s fleet,
even though, SHE HAD FUCKING DRAGONS! Makes no sense. D&D are just playing
to plots and playing to the “Feels” rather than telling a coherent story. It’s
fan-servicing rather than storytelling…
2:[ MY TALKS WITH CHARK-ATTACK: Our New Movie
Theater Jobs
So,
Char and I have new jobs in the movie theater industry. She works in the
kitchen of a high-end theater. I am a “projectionist” at another high-end one
on the other side of town. What is funny is that since we both love movies, we
get to get in free being employees. But I barely take advantage of my perk. The
theater I work at has reserved seating and recliners in many of the houses. But
when I had a chance to see “Spider-man: Homecoming” there, I did not take it. I
was just too tired of being on-site there that I eventually went and paid and
watched it at the theater Char works. Funny. She is taking every advantage of
her employment, taking her mom, her sister, and her friends to the movies every
chance she gets. I am so proud…
3:[ So, I have a new job that takes me to the
southwest loop to the Roosevelt Collection with is a strip mall type things,
but walking to my work offers me a really nice view of Willis Tower. Which I
find to be a really- what’s that? Oh, yeah, it’s Willis Tower. I mean, for
those of us who got the fuck over it. I mean, come on. This is why teams will
never change their names from “Redskins” because of this collective attitude
about naming things being tradition. Look, I really don’t mind if you keep
calling it “Sears Tower”, you are allowed to, but just know, you’re Wrong!
4:[ ODE TO COWBOY BOOTS:
Last
time I wrote about how tough duct tape is in keeping my cowboy boots intact.
This month I am writing about the enduring Cowboy Mystique and how it still
seems to capture folks’ imaginations. I am not talking about the old western
cowboys, with fringed shirts, dungarees tucked into boots, and shiny spurs of
old TV and the movies. I am talking about the still-out-there, range roving,
saddle tramp that seems to endure in every age. The Rancher’s Sons can only
envy the lonesome cowboy figure; a figure that cuts lean and is punctuated with
the perfect hat and the rugged-est of boots.
I
mean cowboy boots are tough, they’re cool, sexy, no man OR woman can go wrong
by wearing a pair no matter where they live, mostly due to that Cowboy
Mystique. It is the boots that keep the mystique alive even living here in the
city. That cowboy mystique keeps thriving, even thrives in the post-Brokeback
Era!
I
own a very used pair of Roper style boots, that are on the brink of flying
apart but for the coolness of the imagery of cowboys that they evoke that
attracts many people to them. The boots, not me…. Such is their power.
5:[ I don’t know why people rag on CTA Train
drivers when there is a delay. People take them so personal as if they are
delaying the train specifically to annoy your stupid ass. Then, they have the
temerity to post the stupidest complaints about them on Facebook.
So,
the other day, the driver stopped the train and announced that she was leaving
the train due to “unauthorized persons on the railway”. Everyone in the car all
huffed and puffed as if they were being delayed from the surgery they were set
to perform to save an orphan’s life. Then, the posts on social media…
Not,
“Thank you to the CTA conductor for making sure the train is safe and
operational and that we won’t derail anytime soon!” Yeah, right…
6:[ Overheard on the CTA:
1st
Guy: You know what ‘scape-goating’ is, right?
2nd
Guy: Yeah, that is where you place the blame on someone or something else
entirely when something goes wrong.
1st
Guy: Exactly. So here’s who we’re going to do that to….
Did
not hear who they were going to do that to, but, this, this is why society will
collapse…
7:[ You cannot have a serious, thoughtful, and
passionate discussion on the progressive, liberal agenda and how protest and
aggressive resistance is what has been at the forefront of change with your
big, hairy ass crack spilling out the back of your pants for all the rest of
the coffee shop to see….
8:[ So, I find myself watching “Roseanne” in
reruns a lot lately. I never really got into it as it first aired but did make
note of all the controversy surrounding Roseanne Barr at the time, and how
everyone seemed to hate her for some reason. I used to catch it in reruns back
in Wyoming form time to time, but this as when it was still on the air and the
reruns were of the earlier seasons.
But
when I finally got a television that worked, I find myself watching “Roseanne”
a lot and being impressed with how it was both ahead of its time in the topics
it chose to deal with, and how perceptive it seems in hindsight in how the middle
class was disappearing. It is a solid, well-made piece of television. I find
myself enjoying it…
That
is it for this month, nothing really new to pass on. Life has been plodding
along and I have been hit with some difficulties but I am trying to get through
them. It will not stop me from writing my thoughts for you month to 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.”
2017
Ernest M Whiteman III
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