WISDOM
OF THE SAGES
EPISODE I: WINTER 2018
EPISODE I: WINTER 2018
Hello
People of the World;
Guess
what, we are only one month into winter and people have the frickin’ temerity
to think that it is somehow over all ready. Come on. It’s warmed up a tad but
once those freezing temperatures return, because you know – winter, then we are
so freaking surprised that it does somehow manage to get cold during winter.
How dare it!
Here
we are at the start of the latest year, by the calendar’s count. For some
reason we think that we have only 365 days to change our lives. A life can last
over 80 years, why expect it to change in such a short time. Remember, in the
longer view, January 1, 2018 is just another Monday.
All right, let’s get going:
1:[ Opening thoughts: Do I need an ethos, a core
belief that would define me as a human being? Why isn’t “human being” enough?
If I could have an ethos, what would it be? Leave people alone, and they’ll
figure it out. They don’t need you posting positive messages to Facebook to
overcome something. Trust them. They’ll figure it out. Except for religiosity,
and the belief in a god, then, never stop pressing the evidences.
I
mean we are only attuned to serve the self when it is all said and done. Even
in serving others, it is a subtle gesture to our own egos. We make sure we are
visible in our charity, that our names are attached to the meme, the polls,
that it is known we are serving the cause.
We
nourish ourselves at the expense of others.
2:[ The backlash against the criticisms of Star
Wars: The Last Jedi remind me of the backlash against the critics of
Scientology.
I
know, yes, there are stupid people mad that women and people of color are
ruining their childhoods. But this movie has had some legitimate critiques
leveled against it, that people simply ignore by calling critics racist,
misogynist, or whatever….
Admit
it, you forgot you saw it already. I can tell by all the “Black Panther”
rhetoric I see you posting. Actually, all I see about this movie any more is
defenses of its crappiness. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
3:[ My Annual Best of Lists is up and you can
read it here. Every year I try to put together a list of the films, books, and
music I got the past year and kind of rank them Then I post it like people
value my opinion or something. But, I am just another guy shaking my fist at a
cloud….
4:[ My “Phantom Thread” Review: It was all right
if a little disappointing. Here, Day-Lewis plays a clothier who falls in love
with a younger woman. It was a good movie. All the actors were very good and
the twist (sigh, why does there always have to be a twist) was fitting. Still, I
attribute the greatness more to Daniel Day-Lewis than Paul Thomas Anderson,
whose subtle performance is what makes these movies great….
5:[ The Oscar Nominations – do I really have an
opinion anymore? Let’s face it: “Get Out” will only win for best screenplay. I
guess the reason Gary Oldman was nominated was for playing a cartoon character.
6:[ Noticing a lot of historical rewriting with
the “The Greatest Showman” and “The Current War”. I love how they are trying to
make PT Barnum, a racist exploitative asshat, into a magical “I believe in you”
cheerleader. Read up on this awful man. Then, they are trying to turn that evil
fuck George Westinghouse into a “Man with Dreams”. It is really too bad that we,
as a society, learn most of our history through movies. No joke. No one would
care about Pearl Harbor if they didn’t make a move out of it every few years.
Look at “Hidden Figures”, absolutely no one knew about that story until the
movie came out, even though there was a book written, and that SOME OF THE
WOMEN WHO LIVED IT WERE STILL ALIVE!
I
see this happening with movies like “American Made” and the upcoming “7 Days in
Entebbe” where brown people are being written out of history. Shameful. Don’t
even get me started on the Revisionist American Westerns. We are practically
non-existent in westerns. Look at “Wind River”….
7:[ My Film Screening: So I dug into my pockets
and rented a space to host a screening of some of my films and invited all my
friends. I wanted to drum up support for my feature film “Hamlet: The Whole Bloody
Affair” and for “The Future: A Story of Blue Woman.” Maybe seven people showed
up (almost have were non-friends attendees) and two of the staff at the coffee
shop I rented. Was a bit pricey for all that I had to provide myself. Still, it
is nice to know that my vision of “Hamlet” is still ruffling some feathers.
I
will be hosting a second one as soon as I find a space, so you will have a
second chance to view my superhero movie “The Final Meeting” and several clips
and a trailer from “Hamlet”. So, stay tuned….
8:[ One thing I will never understand is how
someone who started out in the same spot you are in can suddenly not have
empathy for your situation. For example, a worker gets promoted and you are
there to take the position but they suddenly become this sadistic asshole and
coming down on you with both feet for no reason what so ever. I mean, you
should know how the job can be, why can’t you give the new person space?
9:[ You know what I just learned? That the
Hershey’s Company runs a museum called “The Hershey Story” that has an
impressive Native American collection! Weird, is what I find it, just so
totally weird. Go to the Hershey Story Website and search “American Indian” and
you will see all the pretty good exhibits they put on in the chocolate company museum….
That
is it for this month.
Been
trying better at getting these done on time but my schedule is so packed with
work and other projects that I tend to lose time. Plus, it is tough to come up
with stuff to write about without being a narcissist or getting political. But between
the two, I’d rather go narcissistic.
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.”
2018
Ernest M Whiteman III
