An Open Letter to All the Republican Dirtbags, Ha Ha Ha...
Current mood: amused
Category: News and Politics
Yes, it sucks when you're supposedly the party of family values (what's so inherently great about family values anyway?), and your candidate for Vice President has a pregnant17-year-old daughter... So you want to play the "children should be off-limits" card to deflect criticism after you've painted Democrats as immoral heathens.
I do think that as a general rule, even in the vicious world of politics, children should be off-limits. But the fact of the matter is even what happens in a candidate's children lives ARE up for debate if it is related to that candidate's positions on public policy. Gov. Palin has made it her policy to advocate abstinence-only sex education. LOL. Well, Gov. Palin, how did that work out for your daughter? But at least, her daughter will not have her future robbed because as the privileged daughter of a prominent politician, she can still choose to go to college and have a life of her own. Most other teenage mothers do not have that choice. Their lives will inevitably be that of insurmountable financial hardship and dearth of options.
Look, all kids want to screw--Republican, Democratic, Muslim, Protestant, Jewish, Catholic, atheist, what have you--and to try to curb that natural instinct is simply bad ineffective public policy. Just because your teenage child can still have a life of opportunities even after a stint as a teenage mother, it does not mean that you advoate the same insane policy that will ruin countless other lives.
By the way, doesn't this hypocrisy remind you of what happened during the last election with Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter? The Cheneys got all indignant at John Kerrey for pointing out that Bush was trying to pass a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages... LOL. I have to hand it to you Republican assholes for being able to turn an issue upside down on its head.
And to all you right-wing Republican crybabies who are crying foul over news surrounding the VP candidate's pregnant daughter, here's what John McCain said about Chelsea Clinton in 1998: " "Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno." Yeah, that's right. Really classy. Chelsea was 18 at the time. So stop whining and go play the rusty trombone on each other, you hypocritical, moralistic, Bible-wielding Republican dirtbags.
I Finally Figured It All out--I’m an Existentialist Penguin.
I finally got to watch Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World. And it was just the usual fucking brilliant Herzog concoction of startling visuals, ironic observations, wicked sarcasm, and thought-provoking philosophy about man vs. nature. It is ostensibly a documentary--actually funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation--but it is not by any stretch of the imagination a conventional documentary. In fact, I would argue that it is in an entirely different genre of its own, one that Herzog has pioneered, in which the visual images presented may not have been scripted but are presented in an admittedly manipulated fashion with unique narration and startling music/sounds that may or may not be diegetic.
So the particular theme of this film is essentially no fundamentally different from that of most of Herzog's better-known masterpieces like Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, and Stroszek. It centers around the various characters that reside on McMurdo Station, an American research center located in Antarctica. And these people have traveled to a remote part of the earth to fulfill some kind of longing, just like the other famous Herzog creations Aguirre, Fitzcarraldo, and Bruno from Stroszek. And these are the people who, much like the tight rope walker in Nietzsche's Thus Spake Zarathustra, try so desperately to negotiate that fine balancing act between genius and madness, inspiration and absurdity, idealism and foolishness, and creativity and destruction. And of course, I immediately recognized myself in these people…of course, I'm a lot more made up of madness, absurdity, foolishness, and destruction than genius, inspiration, idealism, and creativity, but nevertheless I saw these people as kindred souls. There was the forklift operator who waxed poetic about Homer's epics, the loquacious woman who traveled through the world, much of it in sewer pipes, and the linguist who ended up in a part of the world with no native language. As one of the characters says in the film, "It's like someone shook the world and anyone without roots landed in Antarctica."
Part of what makes this film so unique and fun is that it is narrated by Werner Herzog himself in English. For those of you who are not familiar with his English, it sounds exactly like a blend of Arnold Schwartzenegger and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog from Conan O'Brien, lol. I personally believe that he is quite aware that he sounds rather funny when he's speaking English and that he uses his diction to maximize impact of his ironic, sarcastic, comic, wry, and ultimately poignant narration. And in my favorite scene from the film, Herzog asks a rather taciturn penguin expert about penguin homosexuality, prostitution, and insanity! LOL. After the expert gives a spirited description of an instance of penguin prostitution, Herzog asks him, "Do you find some penguins that go insane because they just can't take it anymore?" Of course, there was uproarious laughter throughout the theater, and I just about fell out of my seat from laughing so hard. But then, after all this tomfoolery, Herzog shows a lone penguin marching, not towards the ocean, but towards the middle of the continent and a certain lonely death.
So as evident throughout Herzog's oeuvre, he once again utilizes all of that chicanery to illustrate a brilliant point-- all those people in Antarctica, are just like that individualistic existentialist penguin waddling towards the inner nothingness. Now it's easy to just dismiss this as a funny scene, or as an example that insanity and suicide exist in penguins too. But it is a metaphor for something bigger…the innately tragic human condition. I was so overwhelmed with sadness after watching this scene, because it once again reminded me of my life and the lives of my friends. I have had three close friends commit suicide, once in my teens, once in my 20s, and once in my 30s. I certainly hope that when and if I do reach my 40s, I won't have to witness another suicide of a close friend. But some people are just overwhelmed with that thanatos, an inexorable drive towards self-destruction which Freud called the "death drive." I don't know exactly how much of this death drive has ruled my life…certainly it's played a huge part at times. But my life certainly has been ruled by what various cultures have referred to as weltschmerz, han (a Korean cultural concept), existential angst, anomie, ennui, and the blues…
It's just amazingly uncanny how I inevitably push away those closest to me and--just like that penguin who forsook its family and companions--waddle towards a lonely cold extinction. I strive to create the most intense and pure connections with people, and even in those few times I make those genuine connections, I will indubitably do whatever it takes to sabotage them… Sometimes, I do it consciously--not to hurt others but to spare them from my own destructive tendencies… But most of the time, I do it subconsciously… It's like that thanatos, the death drive, just takes over me and quashes any other drives within me, like the ones that strive for pleasure and creativity.
Anyway, at least Herzog's film helped me figure out what I am, something I've been struggling to do all my life. Apparently, I'm an existentialist penguin.
The Idea of Chaos at Key West
Current mood: indescribable
It was her voice that made The sky acutest at its vanishing. She measured to the hour its solitude. She was the single artificer of the world In which she sang. And when she sang, the sea, Whatever self it had, became the self That was her song, for she was the maker. Then we, As we beheld her striding there alone, Knew that there never was a world for her Except the one she sang and, singing, made.
--from The Idea of Order at Key West, by Wallace Stevens
I had the most amazing dream last night. In it, I was at the legendary Sloppy Joe's in Key West in the year 1935. That was the year when one of my favorite American poets, Wallace Stevens, punched out one of my least favorite American writers, Ernest Hemingway. In this dream, I was there, witnessing the whole thing, taking delight at the fact that Stevens punched the shit out of Hemingway... Actually, in reality though, after the drunk Stevens punched Hemingway, the younger and in my opinion far less gifted Hemingway beat the shit out of Stevens, lol. Well, Stevens was 56, and Papa Hemngway was 36.
But in this dream, the two men of letters were joined by two of my favorite children's authors. Shel Silverstein, the author of my all-time favorite The Giving Tree was there, as well as the author of the Curious George books. Now I don't even know whether the author of Curious George was a man or a woman...I believe the author was French but I don't feel like googling it because it might ruin the general awesome nature of my dream. Now, while I have no idea what the Curious George author looks like, I do know that Shel Silverstein looks like the last man on earth you'd want to meet in a dark alley! And he wrote such beautiful sensitive books, didn't he? I sure wish I still had my childhood copy of The Giving Tree, as it was the first book in English I managed to really understand. Somehow though, the thought of that particular book, annotated with my clumsy childish notes in Korean, is floating around in some thrift shop warms my now oh-so-cynical and yet-still-not-totally-grown-up heart. But I did manage to hold on to my vintage Curious George shirt though. :)
Well, anyway, in my surreal version of this actual event, Shel Silverstein joined Wallace Stevens and proceeded to beat Papa Hemingway to a pulp, lol. Oh, finally, true poetic justice!
Currently
watching
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Grizzly Man Release date: 2005-12-26
I Must Protect the Small Space I Have Made That Has Allowed Me Life
Category: Life
A Challenge To The Dark by Charles Bukowski
shot in the eye shot in the brain shot in the ass shot like a flower in the dance
amazing how death wins hands down amazing how much credence is given to idiot forms of life
amazing how laughter has been drowned out amazing how viciousness is such a constant
I must soon declare my own war on their war I must hold to my last piece of ground I must protect the small space I have made that has allowed me life
my life not their death my death not their death...
Man, I have desperately held onto a flimsy, most tenuous hold on sanity for pretty much all of my life ever since about 16. Of course, there have been peaks and valleys just as in anyone's life, andI have managed to create for myself a small space that has allowed me life. I can't possibly fathom how y'all do the daily 9-5 grind without going insane, but kudos to you, because I simply could NOT do it. And of course, society at large looks at people like me as the insane ones, who cannot or will not get up at 6 every morning, fight through morning traffic with all the other members of the rat race, get entrenched in a cubicle, and go through the exciting daily rituals of stapler battles, TPS reports, inane water cooler discussions of Paris Hilton's latest adventures, pizza parties, and utterly meaningless admonitions from some middle-management asshole. Really, is that really how most people would choose to live their lives if they actually THOUGHT about it? I mean, I guess I'm the insane and irresponsible one for not wanting to crash in on that excitng and stimulating party of a life.
Of course, I'm not advocating that people live like me...as I realize that I live my life on the other extremity of the responsibility and moderation scale. Like Buddha says, the middle path is the way to go. But as far as not having to become a drone of a worker and a mindless cog in the montrous golem of a wheel we call society, I think I have done pretty well for myself. Once upon a time, I tried a real corporate job for a couple of years too. I worked as a marleting/sales rep for AT&T, and I have to say this much for a company like that--they pay insane amounts of money to utterly incompetent people... I was doing pretty well, as I could always make sales IF I wanted to... But you know what? I really felt my soul leaving my body one day, lol... I managed to catch it in time, went back to doing freelance translating and interpreting, which has meant that I have been my own boss.
And then online poker came along a few years ago. Well, this was a fucking god-send as it has become another great source of income for me. And just like translating, I get to work where and when I want. Of course, it wasn't all that easy. I didn't grow up playing cards, and except for a brief period in my early 20s when I learned to count cards and played blackjack for a profit, I never had that much interest in gambling. Actually, I didn't have much interest in games period, preferring to party, lol. But I did develop a fascination with chess, and at one point became a fairly advanced player...So I knew I had qualities that would facilitate success in poker, but I had a steep learning curve. I didn't even know that a flush beat a straight... That was back in October of 2004. Of course, having always had an autodidactic streak, I read every well-known poker strategy book out there. By the beginning of 2005, I was making an average profit of $1500 or so a month from playing online poker. This was great as it gave me even more freedom in terms of time and money. I had found the small space that let me live my life. In March I won a seat into the $10,000 buy-in World Series of Poker Main Event by winning a $55 online tournament. I didn't place in the money, but played resonably well, considering that I was still just a neophyte to the game.
So online poker has been good to me. And I cannot lie. There is something compelling and satisfying about just plain outwitting other people and taking their money. I know some people find the very idea rather offensive and perhaps even ignoble or unethical, but obviously, I don't. I find it pretty exhilarating. The wonderful thing about poker is that it is a zero-sum game. And you don't play against the house (casino), but against other people. And you probably know this already, but most people are idiots. There is nothing like looking at people's poker results which affirms this truism. (All tournament results are available in the wonderful world of the internet.) Less than 10% of all poker players are actually winning players. A lot of peope think that poker is just a game of luck, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is a game of skill with an element of luck. Now the luck factor can create huge swings in winning and losing, especially in the short-term. But the winning players always manage to come out in the black given a long enough period to withstand the fluctuations of luck.
But something happened back in October of 2006 which has really made my life rather difficult. George Bush, aka the Chimp-in-Chief, signed into law something called the Safe Port Act. This particular bill was pruportedly an anti-terrorism measure, that strengthened the security procedures at US harbors. Well... who's not for that! But actually, the bill was really a way to criminalize online poker, as a provision called the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was attached to it. What does making online poker have to do with fighting terrorism? That's right. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Nil. Niente. But this is an old trick politicians use to pass unpopular legislation that would never pass on their own. Some moralistic Republican lawmakers, realizing that the Democrats would never have the resolve to stand up against something called the Safe Port Act, stuck it to the millions of law-abiding people who happen to enjoy playing poker online.
So what did this legislation mean for the grind-it-out "semi-pros" like myself who count on their poker winnings as significant source of income? It made online poker technically illegal...yes, I know this makes little sense because you see all the Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars ads on ESPN all the time. But while technically it is illegal, these companies are usually located in the Caribbean and not subject to American jurisdiction. What the government has done is to go after the US-based financial companies that allow the transfer of funds. Well, the world's two biggest poker sites, Party Poker and Pacific Poker, still immediately pulled out of the US market, taking with them all the fish and donkeys (poker term for bad players who provide income to the winning players)... Then Neteller, an online financial transactions company much like PayPal, pulled out of the US too, making it extremely difficult for US players to withdraw their winnings. But there was still a company called e-passporte which provided the same services, but they eventually folded as well earlier this year from the government pressures. So the payouts have become increasingly tenuous exercises that require much patience and faith. Luckily, I have received all of my winnings through the years. But at times, there have been interminable delays which really can put a damper on things. Like earlier this year, I was on a trip when lots of banks, including mine, stopped taking funds trasnfers from online poker sites. Yeah, that sucked. Imagine being away from home, and not having access to the money which belongs to you, because the fucking GOVERNMENT decides to play Big Brother. Ugh...
But there were still the paper checks issued by some smaller banks which still had the balls to deal with the online poker companies. Yet, the governmental pressure has been so enormous that the poker sites recently turned to using MoneyGram to wire winnings to players. And this worked like a charm...for about one month. MoneyGram and WesternUnion are the choices of shady organizations throughout the world to engage in money laundering. Well, the government noticed that all of a sudden, millions of dollars were being wired by poker sites, and just stepped in the last few days to stop this. The fucking government is making my life miserable. Ever since I started playing poker again on a regular basis in March after a personal crisis, I've been averaging well over 3 grand a month in profits. I recently even wrote Hawaii Food Bank a check for $1,000 as I had promised myself that I'd donate 10% of my profits. Well, a good deed never goes unpunished, does it? So now, it's back to wondering whether or not I will ever see my money...
And I was thinking that playing poker and watching mixed martial arts seem to be THE two activities most enjoyed by red-blooded American men. And this leads me to thinking...why is America such a pathetically anti-intellectual violence-prone country? Why does the government feel compelled to criminalize a game of intellect while not compelled to criminalize a "sport" in which two grown men beat each other to a bloody pulp? I'm not saying that we should criminalize UFC or K-1 or anything of the sort--in fact, I have to admit that there is a primordial side to me which makes me watch those things on occasion--but why do we label a game of mental jousting as immoral, unethical, and deserving of criminality while celebrating a game of physical maiming?
Man, I have searched high and low to have a life in which I can make a living without offending my sensibilities, and this monkey-ass government is really trying its darndest to ruin it. Thankfully, one of my personal heroes, the openly gay Congressman Barney Frank has introduced a bill that would legalize online poker and regulate payment procedures. Man, I hope it passes. Otherwise, I think I have to give up on this country all together. It's amazing how much credence is given to idiot forms of life in this country.
The Most Bizarre Thing I have Ever Read...
Category: News and Politics
Read this editorial supposedly wtitten by a Jamaican of African decent. I don't know whether to be sad or outraged... I'm definitely confused, that's for sure.
Currently
listening
:
Bring on the Comets
By
VHS or Beta
Release date: 2007-08-28
Some Things about the Human Condition Never Change -- See How We Are
Current mood: thoughtful
Category: Life
Some things about the human condition never change--wherever you live, at whaever point on the continuum of the temporal cycle you may find yourself... It's funny living in a place like Hawaii. Many people consider it a paradise. I was talking to a poker buddy whom I've only met a couple of times in Vegas, and he jokingly commented that "Hawaii is not even a real place." And of course, in a profound metaphorical sense, he's absolutely right. The Hawaii that most people imagine does not exist.
Most people have no idea that Hawaii has just about the worst crystal meth problem in the world. They also have no idea that the cost of living is so incredibly high--rivaling that of NYC and San Francisco--that it is not at all uncommon to find 5 or 6 members of one extended family living in a 500 sq. ft. one bedroom apartment. Of course, all of this is shoved out of the view of most tourists who congregate in Waikiki beach portion of Honolulu. But outside of Waikiki, everyday you run into people tripping out on meth so hard that they are literally talking to trees and fire hydrants in the middle of the day under the tropical sun.
Another thing about Hawaii that most people don't know is that in per capita terms, these islands have one of the biggest gay-lesbian-transgender communities in the world. Now of course, I have nothing but affinity for the members of the GLBT community, if for no other reason than that they are unfairly persecuted. There is absolutely nothing tragic in and of itself, but somehow in our world, being different means being ostracized. And inevitably, the GLBT community finds itself to be even more vulnerable to the crystal meth epidemic.
Sometimes I just wish I didn't give a shit. I'm not gay, I'm not transgendered, and I'm not a crystal meth addict. But every time I see a mahu (Hawaiian word for a transgendered person) speed addict prostitute--and they are ubiquitous in all of Honolulu outside of Waikiki--it breaks my heart. People are so provincial, so phobic of anything different that most members of the transgender community can do nothing but turn to the most insidious of drugs or prostitution... But there is something always so ennobling about human frailty and tragedy... I've had this idea in my head for a while about making a documentary film about the disenfranchised folks in Hawaii. There are so many, and nobody ever hears about them because well, Hawaii is heaven on earth, right?
Maybe one day, I will just go out there and start talking to all the freaks, the homeless, the she-males, the druggies, and the roadside prophets... it's always so difficult to feature people without exploiting them. But I guess it's hard to exploit someone when you yourself feel that you really a member of the marginalized, even if ostensibly you are a regular ol' functioning cog in the monstrous golem of a wheel we call society. But people do want to hear the voices of the unheard and see the images of the unseen, don' they? Or is it all about Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, and the cast members of The Hills?
Well, I'm done rambling for the time being. But enjoy this beautiful music from the seminal punk band X. Actually, I caught this on the shuffle mode on my I-Pod the other day, and I just couldn't believe what a beautiful song it is and how timeless its lyrics are. It inspired me to think about those have-nots... I can't believe that it's been over a dozen years when I saw them as a kid at the Warfield in San Francisco. God, it was the greatest fucking rock show I ever did see.
There are men lost in jail Crowded fifty to a room There's too many rats in this cage of the world And the women know their place They sit home and write letters And when they visit once a year Well they both just sit there and stare See how we are Gotta keep bars in between us See how we are We only sing about it once in every twenty years See how we are Oh see how we are Now there are seven kinds of Coke 500 kinds of cigarettes This freedom of choice in the USA drives everybody crazy But in Acapulco Well they don't give a damn About kids selling Chiclets with no shoes on their feet See how we are "Hey man, Whats in it for me?" See how we are We only sing about it once in every twenty years See how we are Oh see how we are Now that highway's coming through So you all gotta move This bottom rung ain't no fun at all No fires and rockhouses and grape-flavored rat poison They are the new trinity For this so-called community See how we are Gotta keep bars on all of our windows See how we are We only sing about it once in every twenty years See how we are Oh see how we are Well this morning the alarm rang at noon And I'm trying to write this letter to you About how much I care and why I just can't be there To draw your bath and comb...and comb your hair Last night in a nightspot Where things aren't so hot My friend said, "I met a boy and I'm in love" I said, "Oh really... What's this one's name?" She said, "His first name is Homeboy" I said "Could his last name be Trouble?" See how we are Ah Homeboy... Isn't that a Mexican name? See how we are We only sing about it once in every twenty years See how we are Oh see how we are Yeah see how we are
Currently
listening
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Hip Hop Is Dead
By
Nas
Release date: 2006-12-19
I Hate "Triumph of the Human Spirit" films, but I Loved The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Current mood: tested
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities
You can call me a grinch, but one type of movie I cannot stand is the typical sappy "triumph of the human spirit" fare. They're usually so hackneyed and so cliche, and as a general rule, I find them to be more insulting than uplifting. Take a movie like The Pursuit of Happyness for example. Yeah, sure, it's based on a true story, but what is the ultimate message of a flick like that? Hey, you're a homeless minority guy? Well, just go learn yourself the ins and outs of stocks and you too can be a millionaire like the homeless black dude in the movie! You say it's a fantasy? Hey, this movie is based on a true story! Umm, gag me with a spoon, please. Of course, the reactionary socio-political message is the least of my problems with shitty movies like that. They provide zero artistic value or intellectual stimulation.
So anyway, when I finally got around to getting my copy of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly--I know, I must be the only serious moviegoer who hasn't seen this yet-- and the little blurb on the cover said that this movie was about the "strength of the human spirit", it just made me kind of cringe. Give me Bicycle Thieves, and I will be moved and cry; give me Shawshank Redemption and I'll be insulted and roll my eyes. But when I managed to get over my initial wariness and actually watch the film, I found myself completely engrossed. Can you imagine finding yourself completely paralyzed, unable to speak, yet having all of your senses intact? You can see, you can hear, but you can't move or speak... And of course, the main character was an accomplished guy by any measure, but not a particularly good father, friend, or a husband. Just your typical successful guy who lived for himself... And getting paralyzed and confined with "lockdown syndrome" did not magically turn this guy into a saint. He still went on living the rest of his life with most of his rather cynical and superior attitude intact... But the inspiring part of the true story and the film was that the guy did not give up on life. Just by using the blinks of his one functioning eye, he dictated the book that would later be adapted into this movie. And what I really loved about this film is its frank portrayal of life--that life can be harrowingly difficult. But in facing that kind of difficulty, what do we do? Do we shrink from the challenge or do we engage life? Of course, this is THE fundamental question addressed in some of the greatest works of literature. In the Bhagavad Gita, Prince Arjuna agonizes over going into battle, because he realizes that war means suffering and death, not only for himself but for all those involved. In the Iliad, Achilles agonizes going into battle in which he had already been preordained to die. In Hamlet, the hapless prince finds himself in a pretty fucked up predicament, and he agonizes over what action, if any, to take.
What one has to do is LIVE. You just have to deal with whatever the circumstances you're given, and you have to make the most of it. You must engage life in whatever terms you are given. While most people may find this idea tragic or pessimistic, I find it oddly inspiring and comforting. It's really an essentially a Buddhist idea. And I was pleasantly surprised to hear the director Julian Schnabel say in an interview that even though he has never been a Buddhist, he ended up making a Buddhist film without knowing it.
Anyway, I'm fucking babbling. Sometimes, I have to try to write this shit out just to help myself go on. If you haven't seen this film, please do.
Currently
watching
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A Touch of Zen Release date: 2002-12-10
Why I Support Barack Obama, a Gay Muslim Black Supremacist.
Category: News and Politics
Okay, Obama really isn't a gay Muslim black supremacist. Even though, at times I think that it still wouldn't be that bad even if he were, lol. We've had a lot of straight Christian white supremacist presidents in our history, so why don't we go for a little more flavor this time? But really, Obama is none of the things above. Though according to this particular Washington Post article, the good, hard-working regular folks of Findlay, Ohio--aka the self-proclaimed Flag City, USA--are convinced beyond a doubt that Obama is not only all those things mentioned above, but also not even born in the United States. They're also frightened shitless of what his Christian preacher said. Even though that begs the question, if one believes that Obama is a Muslim, then what difference in hell does it make as to what his Christian preacher says? LOL. But then again, what place would things like logic and truth have anything to do in a place with a self-claimed moniker like Flag City? The truly depressing thing about this is that Ohio is what the political pundits call a bellwether state. Just as in 2004 and 2008, whoever wins Ohio is likely to win the presidency. So in other words, Ohio presents us with a pretty good snapshot of what can be considered typical American values, opinions, and trends.
Here's what one enlightened resident of Findlay had to say about Obama: "I think Obama would be a disaster, and there's a lot of reasons. I understand he's from Africa, and that the first thing he's going to do if he gets into office is bring his family over here, illegally. He's got that racist [pastor] who practically raised him, and then there's the Muslim thing. He's just not presidential material, if you ask me." Where do these muppets get their information?
Well, having lived in the state of Hawaii for the last several years, I've come to learn quite a bit about our islands' favorite son. And the truth is that, as with all politicians, Obama does somewhat misrepresent his childhood. Most of you might think that he had a really rough, perhaps even impoverished childhood. Of course, it's to Obama's advantage to portray himself as an underprivileged child a la Bill Clinton--who, by the way was really an underprivileged poor piece of white trash and admirably pulled himself up by his boot straps--but actually, Barack's childhood years were pretty halcyon years compared to those of most Americans. He may have in fact had a difficult childhood during his years in Indonesia, but from 5th grade on, when he returned to Honolulu, he has had an immensely privileged life.
His maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, is a rather well-known little old lady here in Hawaii. Why? She was the first female vice-president of Bank of Hawaii, and the considerable wealth such position brought her benefited the young Obama. From 5th grade to 12th grade, Barack, or "Barry" as he went by then, attended Punahou School, one of the oldest and most elite prep schools in all of America. Some of the richest people in the world make Honolulu their home, and this is the school their children attend. What kind of people have attended Punahou? People like Steve Case, the founder of AOL and Sun Yat-sen, the first president of the Republic of China, still revered in both China and Taiwan as the "father of modern China." It was founded in 1841--yes, you read that right--and as of this year, its annual tuition is about $17,000. You read that right too. And that doesn't include a lot of other "mandatory" and "optional" fees. How do I know so much about this school? God knows I didn't go to a school like that, lol. Well, I tutored a kid from when he was in 8th grade at Punahou to when he graduated. His AP and honors classes were tougher than the lower-division classes I took as an undergrad at UC Davis and UC Berkeley.
Anyway, I digressed a bit there, but it goes to show you that "Barry" Obama had a golden youth. And you might feel that it must have been really tough for him as a biracial child. Well, not in the least. Had he grown up on the mainland, he certainly would have faced many difficulties. We all know biracial children and the tough identity crises they go through. But in Hawaii, it is almost the norm to be of mixed descent. And Obama was blessed with the kind of look and skin color that just make him blend as a part of the crowd here. He was just another of the countless majority of brown kids with somewhat kinky hair.
So I am not particularly impressed with Barack's supposed trials and tribulations as I was with, say Bill Clinton's. Now that boy really had a fucked up difficult childhood. And I am not particularly impressed with Obama's postions either--in fact, he and Hillary Clinton have basically identical postions on most of the major issues of the day. By the way, I read a poll showing that some 25% of former Hillary supporters now support John McCain. What the fuck? How can they support someone with totally contrasting positions over another with virtually identical ones? Are white people really that scared shitless of black people? Sad... Anyway, going back to Obama, does even any one of his true believers really think that we'll have universal health care if he's elected president? If they do, I want them to send me a $10,000 cashier's check so I can withdraw the $2 million in my Nigerian bank account, and I'll give them 20%. Nobody can be that delusional. And what about gay marriage? I was so profoundly disappointed with Obama's pussyfooting on the issue, especially as a product of an interracial marriage which was literally criminal in many parts of the country at the time. And even on the Iraq issue, he does not support the unilateral withdrawal of American troops. I attended a symposium last week at the University of Hawaii, and this one well-known Iraqi-American activist--I'm sorry, his name escapes me--categorically stated that McCain and Obama share the basically same position on the Iraqi war.
So I have serious reservations as to whether Obama can really be the kind of transcendent leader that many hope that he will be. But you know what? In the end, I support him. Why? Because even though his current positions don't particular excite me, his very "personhood" is indeed transcendent. People around the world will look at him and identify with him. The people in the "Third World" countries with skin color the various shades of brown, will for the first time in history look at the president of the United States of America with affinity and not antagonism. The fact is that the overwhwlming majority of all the people in the world look more like Obama, not John McCain. I was so pleased to read in a Korean newspaper that the young people there are euphoric as well over Obama's rise. I am quite ashamed to admit this as a person of Korean heritage, but Koreans, due to their homogeneous background, have not always looked upon black people with much respect. But that is the power of Obama's charm, charisma, and heritage. And when that kind of universal admiration is thrust upon someone, they often rise up to the challenge to do the transcendent things as well. For those in need of a refresher history lesson, Lincoln did not intend to abolish slavery when he was initially elected president. He was kind of a pragmatist, saying that slavery shouldn't be expanded but that he wouldn't abolish it either. But when the time came, he latched onto the mantle of greatness by issuing an executive order, the Emancipation Proclamation, effectively abolishing slavery. So it could very well be that our boy Obama could claim that kind of greatness. And even if he doesn't, he sure looks and sounds good, doesn't he? I bet he smells a lot nicer than McCain too. lol
Whatever Gets Me through the Long Day’s Journey into Night
Category: Life
Sometimes it's a bottle of whiskey. Other times, the familiar reassuring voice of a friend. At others, the arms of an unknown stranger. Tonight, it's a poem.
e.e. cummings
love is more thicker than forget more thinner than recall more seldom than a wave is wet more frequent than to fail
it is most mad and moonly and less it shall unbe than all the sea which only is deeper than the sea
love is less always than to win less never than alive less bigger than the least begin less littler than forgive
it is most sane and sunly and more it cannot die than all the sky which only is higher than the sky
Okay, just kidding. No, this is not a definitive list of 100 greatest films ever made. It's just my own personal list of 100 best films I have watched. Do I think of myself as some authority? Hell, no. But it just happens that I have watched a lot of movies, over 2,000 to date, and have catalogued and reviewed some 1,100 so far. I have no credentials that would make my opinion any more valid than anyone else's. It is what it is. But I have finally decided to launch a blog on cinema, so I've been gathering a lot of info and organizing my thoughts. And I figured I might as well share this info since the precious few who read my blog consists of many cinephiles. I did make a similar list some 7 months ago or so, but it was really a hastily put together list. Since then, I've been able to compile a giant cinema database with my thoughts on most of the important films I've seen. For example, while I enjoyed 40-Year Old Virgin as entertainment, I didn't really bother making meticulous notes on it. And yes, just like anyone else, there are films that I really need to see. But I read somewhere that the great film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum has never watched Kubrick's 2001, so I don't feel too bad.
As for the blog, I plan on taking a slightly different approach. Since there are about a million blogs out there which critique films, I don't plan on so much reviewing the films in and of themselves, but plan to talk about the films in a more social, intellectual, and cultural perspective as to how they relate to life at large. For example, I've been reading up on a lot about the Iraq war as of late, and writing about it a lot as well. So I may do a blog entry about the horrors of war and that may provide me the pretext with which I can talk about relatively little-seen seminal Russian anti-war films like Ballad of A Soldier or Cranes Are Flying. I want to provide the readers with new material or at least new perspectives on already familiar material. Another example might be that since there are so many recent films here in the States and abroad about the moral dilemma of abortion--think Juno, Knocked Up, and last year's Cannes Palme d'Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days--I may write an entry featuring my general thoughts about the issue of abortion and in turn introduce the readers to the amazing yet underseen American independent film from 1990, Trust by Hal Hartley, which deals with teenage pregnancy and abortion.
My goal in life has always been to attain as much intellectual knowledge as possible, but not to be shielded in some ivory tower--that is, I've always wanted to relate theory and art to real life. It's a lofty goal, I realize. I won't achive it, but at least with this cinema blog, I can at least say I tried. So I'll provide more info on that in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here's my top 100 movies list. Of course, it's an evolving list.
1. The Cheat (Cecil B. DeMille, 1915) 2 Sherlock, Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1924) 3 The General (Buster Keaton, 1927) 4 Sunrise (F.W. Murnau, 1927) I 5 The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928) 6 Un Chien Andalou (Luis Bunuel, 1929 7 The Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937) 8 The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940) 9 Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, 1943) 10 La Belle et la Bete (Jean Cocteau, 1946) 11 The Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio de Sica, 1948) 12. The Treasure of Sierra Madre (John Huston, 1948) 13. Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950) 14 In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950) 15. A Streetcar Named Desire (Elia Kazan, 1951) T 16. Early Summer (Yasujiro Ozu, 1951) 17. Ugetsu (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953) 18. La Strada (Federico Fellini, 1954) 19 Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, 1955) 20 Cranes Are Flying (Mikhail Kolotozov, 1957) 21 Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda, 1958) 22. A Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958) 23. The 400 Blows (Francois Truffaut, 1959) 24. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) 25. Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959) 26. Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alain Renais, 1959) 27 Ballad of a Soldier (Grigori Chukhrai, 1959) 28 Rocco and His Brothers (Luchino Visconti, 1960) 29 The Human Condition I (Masaki Kobayashi, 1962) 30 Mamma Roma (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1962) 31. Long Day's Journey into Night (Sidney Lumet, 1962) 32. La Notte (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962) 33. Vivre sa Vie (Jean-Luc Godard, 1962) 34. La Jetee (Chris Marker, 1962) 35. 8 ½ (Federico Fellini, 1963) 36. The Silence (Ingmar Bergman, 1963) 37 Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors (Sergei Parajanov, 1964) 38. Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964) 39. Woman in the Dunes (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1964) 40. The "Up" Series--Seven Up; 7 Plus Seven; 21 Up; 28 Up; 35 Up; 42 Up; 49 Up (Michael Apted, 1964-2005) 41 The Shop on Main Street (Jan Kadar, Elmar Klos, 1965) 42 Closely Watched Trains (Jiri Menzel, 1966) 43 Black Girl (Ousmane Sembene, 1966) 44. The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967) 45. Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone, 1968) 46 The Cow (Dariush Mehrjui, 1969) 47. Il Conformista (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970) 48. Four Nights of a Dreamer (Robert Bresson, 1970) 49 Fata Morgana (Werner Herzog, 1971) 50. The Harder They Come (Perry Henzell, 1972) 51. Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973) 52 Mother and the Whore (Jean Eustache, 1973) 53 Scenes from a Marriage (Ingmar Bergman, 1973) 54 Elektra, My Love (Miklos Jancso, 1974) 55. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974) 56. The Mirror (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1975) 57. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorcese, 1976) 58 Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977) 59. Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett, 1977) 60 Tree of Wooden Clogs (Ermanno Olmi, 1978) 61 Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979) 62 My Dinner with Andre, (Louis Malle, 1981) 63 Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986) 64 Nostalghia (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1983) 65 Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984) 66 Stranger than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch, 1984) 67 Amadeus (Milos Forman, 1984) 68. Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen, 1986) 69 Near Death (Frederic Wiseman, 1989) 70. Santa Sangre (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1989) 71. Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? (BaeYong-kyun, 1989) 72. Red Sorghum (Zhang Yimou, 1987) 73. Miller's Crossing (Joel Coen, 1990) 74 Trust (Hal Hartley, 1990) 75 Days of Being Wild (Wong Kar-wai, 1991) 76. Prospero's Books (Peter Greenaway, 1991) 77. My Own Private Idaho (Gus Van Sant, 1991) 78. Suture (Scott McGehee, David Siegel, 1993) 79. Seopyeonje (Im Kwon-taek, 1993) 80. Trois Couleurs: Rouge (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994) 81 Cyclo (Ahn Hung Tran, 1995) 82 Maborosi (Hirokazu Koreeda, 1995) 83 A Moment of Innocence (Mohsen Makhmalbaf, 1996) 84. Satantango (Bela Tarr. 1996) 85. Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier, 1996) 86. The Sweet Hereafter (Atom Egoyan, 1997) 87 Eternity and a Day (Theodoros Angelopoulos, 1998) 88. The Matrix (Andy & Larry Wachowski, 1999) 89. Peppermint Candy (Lee Chang-dong, 2000) 90 Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000) 91 Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001) 92. City of God (Fernando Meirelles, 2002) 93. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodovar, 2002) 94 Last Life in the Universe (Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, 2003) 95. 21 Grams (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, 2003) 96. Oldboy (Park Chan-wook, 2003) 97 Turtles Can Fly (Bahman Ghobadi, 2004) 98. The Fountain (Darren Aronofsky, 2006) 99. Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006) 100. Woman on the Beach (Hong Sang-soo, 2006)
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Stroszek Release date: 2002-01-08
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