THE BONE TWIRLING THROUGH THE AIR-HAPPY THANKSGIVING

You may remember that scene in Stanley Kubrick's epic "2001: A Space Odyssey" where having been spurred into intelligence by an alien monolith, one primitive ape makes the connection of wielding an ox bone as a weapon and after smashing it down on the skeletal remains of its owner, throws it high in the air where it spins.... Welcome to the dawn of man.

I often think of that bone, and the implications of intelligence imparted to us by whatever form it took, whether genetic mutation (evolution) or through the divine hand of a Deity. It is not the gift of intelligence that I ponder; rather our proclivity for abusing it. Smart people are just not necessarily better people, and intelligence does not mean one is smart.

Case in point, the Native Americans were just fine until the smarter European settlers arrived exerting their God given right to exert control. Given their natural balance, assimilation over thousands of years with the nature of this land, their balance between tribal beliefs and a minimal conflict when compared to the number of tribes, it could be said that pre-American America was Edenesque in its simplicity and intelligent design.

Until the bone started twirling.

And so I say "Happy Thanksgiving" because regardless of the above, I am glad to be here to give thanks for the many blessings in my life. Given the state of the world, the global conflicts, the global economy or just the many insanities that we prevail against, giving thanks for the ability to exercise a free agency of choice, investigate the many facets of our society, and hold dearly the things of true value should still count for something.

Enjoy the turkey, but don't throw that bone airborne; you never know what could happen.

MisterWriter
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WHAT KILLED JFK ASKS AN AUTHOR? WE DID!

Frank Rich’s What Killed JFK: The hate that ended his presidency is eerily familiar.

In this well written article Rich explores the climate of hatred in Dallas at the time of the assassination and well before. He details cause and effect relationships and offers added insights including the new Stephen King book 11/22/63.

The saddest fact of all about what has happened, what did happen, and the multitude of explanations, is the loss of humility by which we should approach matters that affect the whole. Good or bad, right or wrong, Republican or Democrat, our system was created to enjoin prosperity to free dialogue, in a nation deemed to be a bastion of civility and civilization, neither of which comes through amidst the torrent of hate and multitude of distortions told by all sides for no other reason than laziness in absorbing all the facts and political or economic gain of individuals or groups who care less for the nobility of a democracy than the avenues of exploitation. 

There is no president today who can, under these circumstances, provide rise for the nation for the simple fact that we are a nation divided by our right to espouse hatred and  condemnation rather than a national obligation toward civility. And with that image we have cast to the world an image of a failed system.

Kennedy's "Ask not..." speech translated to our current time might be more about Americans adopting a mantle of hard work and sacrifice, something we do not do when offered easy credit, dysfunctional workplaces, and a general lack of highly qualified citizens to whip us back into shape. There is no reason but for sloth, why we have more debts than most American can visualize, why our political systems are corrupt with opportunists interested only in sustaining their tenure than leaving their mark on generations to come. But worse, this is no president's fault when squashed on all sides of a stagnating and festering political system than has seen more overpaid blowhards in office than effective leaders; the fault lies squarely with each of us that allow the illusion of leadership, celebrity, economics to exist only to be destroyed by the harsh light of reality and our own weaknesses. We vote for morons.

John F. Kennedy was a man, flawed like all men. Likewise President Obama is a man, flawed like all men. After reading this article - very well written by the way - I am reminded of the fact for a God fearing nation, with the Almighty printed right on the bank notes, Jesus Himself would fare no better with a second coming, with as much hatred as love, as much failure as success were we to employ these same principles by which we live. Luckily for Jesus He would come with the wrath of a very non-democratic God, so progress would be assured.

It is we who must change, both as a nation as well as individuals. Our morality, our expectations, our entitlements and the messages we send to the next generation should not be of ignorance and slot, nor greed and waste.  To survive the coming ages of change, of which we have had but a brief  economic and environmental glimpse or disaster, we need stop our mindless bickering and rise as one nation, under God, indivisible or face our own demise as both a culture and a species.

Tomorrow marks the 48th anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination.  In his article, Frank Rich asserts that same hatred is rife today, as on that fateful November morning in Dallas. As we approach Thanksgiving, and in 2012 the next election cycle, we should give thought to a greater meaning of how our system works and how we can assert our rights to change it for the better, if that is still possible.

 

MisterWriter

WHY WE HAVE TO BAIL OUT BANKS AND CREDIT CARD COMPANIES

When a credit card company sends you a check for three cents and it takes at least twenty two cents to mail, not to mention paper and manpower, it serves to show why it all smells funny! Got to take care that it is is not spent too fast!

MisterWriter

WATCH MY DOCUMENTARY: “A VETERAN’S TALE” - HERE

I wanted to do something that was appropriate for Veteran’s Day. The documentary below is real. The archival footage is of the same unit at the same time in the same jungle in Vietnam. This is a story about two men whose lives intertwined through an event in the A Shau Valley, Vietnam in August 1969, and how, despite the war now 41 years past for one of them, its effects remain as a permanent marker. It is also a story about the US Army’s failure to correct a mistake they made.

Let me know your thoughts about the film. It lasts 30 minutes. - MisterWriter

COMING TODAY, VETERAN'S DAY: A VETERAN'S TALE

My documentary, "A Veteran's Tale" will be available here in the next few hours. It is the story of two men, one alive and one killed in action and how their lives were altered by a chance of fate in Vietnam. It is also the story of how the US Army refuses to recognize the surviving vet's combat experience, denying him some deserved recognition. Watch for it in the next few hours. Thanks, Misterwriter

SUPPORT THIS FILM – I DID!

UPDATE 11/10/2011 the project was successfully funded. Thanks for your support.

What really happened on the moon?

Click the picture to learn more - and support the
production of this local motion picture by
clicking HERE.

"Apollo Minus Project is the story of a boy’s struggle to hold his broken family together after the effects of his grandfather’s contact with alien life. It is about Daniel’s quest to unravel this mystery, which has haunted his family for over forty years. It is an odyssey.  A conspiracy story.  A hunt for clues in dark places where there is no safe return, where the witnesses hide in dark corners and whisper, “We are not alone.”  - Mark Vashro, Co-Producer

A VIETNAM COMBAT VETERAN’S TALE – AND WHY HE IS IN A FIGHT WITH THE US ARMY

Meet David Wilkins. He fought in Vietnam, part of the 101st Airborne in A Shau Valley in August 1969. He should be dead; but he is alive because someone else was put in his slot in the #2 position only to get shot in the heart the next morning. Dave’s story is a difficult one to hear – vivid for him with graphically brutal imagery burned into his memory along with smells and sounds. It’s been 41 years since he left Vietnam, and although he has his share of medals, the one that counts, the one that offers him a meager amount more in benefits, has been denied him; the army says he was never in combat. You be the judge. Watch the preview for my “A Combat Veteran’s Tale” in this issue of Faces of Idaho Video Magazine. Click HERE to watch it, then visit Faces of Idaho Video Magazine on Veteran’s Day, Friday, November 11, for the full story complete with war video, documentation and hear what he has to say.

 

 

MisterWriter

THE NOVEMBER FACES OF IDAHO VIDEO MAGAZINE IS ONLINE – Corrected link

The November 2011 Faces of Idaho Video Magazine in now online – the link below has been corrected. please click on the cover image to read it. Enjoy.

CLICK HERE

 

Asteroid Shaving The Whiskers of Earth

I watched a pre-theatrical release of a movie called MELANCHOLIA starring Kirsten Dunst, about an end of world scenario and the effect on a couple of sisters, one of whom is depressed. The first 7 minutes of the film told you the ending, and the rest of the movie is really an exercise in “what’s the point”! The story is that the planet Melancholia, hidden behind the sun, shifts orbital trajectory and heads our way for what the characters believe to be a “near miss”.

So imagine my surprise to see that we have an extra terrestrial visitor that will scrape past us next week, close enough to shave the whiskers of the planet.

It makes me realize that we are this little thing floating in the big ocean, waiting for the unseen shark to get us. We are so primitive despite our technology, and our sense of security behind the technology of our lives is so flimsy and so false. We have charted so little of the universe and know of the direct threats with some certainly, but not without the elements of surprise that come our way. And looking at the moon and the hidden craters of the Earth, we should note that not only are we the target but the impact zone many, many times in the few million years of our planet’s existence.

There should be a moment of humility as this thing passes us by, as we stand silent, stilled in the knowledge that this intruder could best us, could return in the future to cause destruction, could change the fate of humanity. It is worth noting.

“An asteroid this size -- which, according to Scientific American is larger than an aircraft carrier -- would cause widespread damage if it were to hit Earth, however. The Associated Press spoke to Jay Melosh, a professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Purdue University, who said that the asteroid would create a four-mile wide crater 1,700 feet deep. It could cause 70-foot tsunami waves and shake the ground like a magnitude-7 earthquake.,” the report states.

MisterWriter

Emotional Intelligence Lost

Before each blog posting there is a wealth of behind the scenes stuff you do not see - well how could you unless you jumped into my brain?

What starts as an emotional dialog within me, is slowly filtered through that logical filter which I have been trained for, sifting through the vast ocean of feeling in a futile attempt to make some sense of it all. That paste-like mush of thought and sense, is then further refined into a commonality with which to communicate my intent to you. In our case, since none of us are actually telepathic, the choice of words becomes crucial.

Ready, I begin. "I am fine."

Whew. So much for that ocean of emotional intelligence which really governs our lives, silently behind the scenes, dominating feelings and dreams alike, yet ignored by intellect that has been conditioned. Yes, conditioned. If you stop and think about it, humans are no different than apes, less hair, more neurons and a suit. Yes, apes do not care about a suit.

A tie? What is a tie? It is a portable napkin and that is all. We have been conditioned to accept a tie as a status of business. A businessman wears a tie.

Off duty, I wear no tie. Jeans and tee shirt. No less a businessman except like a Batman without the outfit, the trappings reveal an ape!

It is amusing to look at the childhood photos of fat and bloated mid-life business people. Not surprisingly all these photos are of nice looking cherub-faced children, innocent and filled with emotional intelligence that they will sacrifice in order to fit into the logical world.

In our growth we lose purity and the ability to fully tap into that emotional intelligence, and really, if you think about it, that emotional ocean holds far more information than any thought we may rationally create. It is a pool of compassion, of empathy, raw and unfettered respect and fear, caution, marvel and all the awe that gets lost when we grow up and become jaded by the system in which we live, created by man and endorsed by politicians. Sure, God is on the money but is the money on God?

If you doubt me then ask yourself how music could so profoundly affect you, how dreams can leave real life residue when you awaken, and why you suspect; but cannot put your finger on, things that are beyond logic? You have no answer.

As we get older and recognize more our mortality, we cling to those emotional relics that we once held dear. This could be an artifact of some point in our life, back when things were easier, simpler, calmer, purer, less filled with conditional legalities that stifle every urge until we are left as a blob in front of the television or the computer pouring our heart out in short 140 character tweets and convincing ourselves that we are connected.

We cling to those fragments of our youth because back then we were free, more than just the lack of financial responsibility; youth represented a time of safety and hope, before reality came along to smack you on the back of the head, before you realized that you would have to put aside "foolish" things in order to grow up because that was what everyone expected of you.

As I lie in bed, a mere moment before things go black; there is a place where you slip back through the symphony of emotional intelligence, feel it tug at you and tell yourself it needs to be something you put on your to-do list. Somewhere in there, amidst the refrains that tug at your memories, the answer lies waiting to be grasped, rolled, kneaded, tasted and coveted like the prized possession it really is.

Somewhere in there you can still find hope; the promise of one day discovering that you still have that emotional intelligence, that it was there all along, smart enough to not get lost despite your bad habits and frenetic pace of life.

One can only hope.

MisterWriter

2011 National Math, Reading Test Scores Show Sluggish Growth, Sustained Achievement Gaps

So despite MILLIONS spent on programs and those ridiculous guessing "standardi­zed" tests where you come in with a 25% chance of a right answer, scores are still terrible. Could it be we have stopped teaching and simply switched to assessing in reverse? Could it be we stopped inspiring students and instead required this flat pancake like uniformity­, again gauged by the faulty assessing programs. Could it be publishers of textbooks, government bureaucrat­s and other profit mongers have raped the American student?
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost