Call Me What You Will

As I've said before my most American quality is that I'm stupidly optimistic. I like to think that I look at data, people, and situations and generally try to see the best coming forth. But with that I try to balance it out with preparation for a worst case scenario. Right now, my optimism is shattering.

I want to be wrong right now. I want to believe that my fears, great and small, are unfounded and that I my growing pessimism is folly. But like I said, I look at data.

I fear that Donald J. Trump is going to irreparably harm the United States of America and the world at large. He could be helping to set the stage for a literal Third World War and a new age of civil rights abuses in this country.

Two or three years ago a friend told me that I was mistaken that Russia was the nation that posed the biggest threat to the US. He agreed that Vladimir Putin was an awful, authoritarian person but that we faced bigger problems with China. At the time he may have been right. But flash forward to December 2016 and we have highly reputable reports that Russians have hacked into both Republican and Democratic National Committees servers and used that information to sway the election to allow Donald Trump to win. And this is following his very open respect for Putin and an alignment with Russia. His current choice for Secretary of State is Rex Tillerson, a long time friend of Putin. And just like Putin when faced with charges of steroid abuse in his country's Olympians Trump hasn't denied any of this, he's simply mocking people for making the claims. Puppet or comrade, Trump is siding with the country that has most directly worked to compromise American democracy.

I understand why there are people who hate capitalism. Some hate money altogether but the truth is that it has a multifaceted purpose. One of those purposes is peace. People who hate each other can put aside their differences when there is mutual benefit to their commercial interactions. This is why free trade is such an important part of international politics. When two or more nations are placed in a situation through trade in which they can find mutual benefit, whether it's the stuffing of coffers or simply the coddling of an otherwise adversary, a peace can be found. And by peace I don't mean harmonious love. By peace I simply mean the absence of war.

Trump doesn't give two fucks about peace and, based on his campaign promises he isn't a fan of free trade either. He is trying to destroy our trade relationship with the country my friend most feared, China. Tariffs, taxation, seeking "fairness," whatever you want to call it Trump is trying to disrupt a flow of commerce with the greatest manufacturing force in the world and that's economically dangerous. But you know what else is dangerous? Taking phone calls from Taiwan's president and thereby disregarding 40 plus years of tenuous diplomatic relationships with the country most capable of causing America military harm.

Do I need to go on? YES?! Okay, how about Muslims? You know who hates Muslims more than Americans? Europeans. And if Trump colludes with Russia to assist the Assad regime in Syria to fight ISIS there will be a greater exodus of refugees and with his "extreme vetting" he promises they are more likely to go north than west. Boy, that won't act to destabilize European relations, will it?

And speaking of destabilizing...how about the fact that the vast majority of his Cabinet appointees have all expressed a vested interest in weakening and dismantling the very Departments with which they are to head? And not in some sort of libertarian fighting-government-overreach sort of way. But in a I'm-not-qualified-or-I-have-sued-this-Department-or-have-opposing-commercial-interests sort of way. I'm not even putting forth my worst case scenario here. I'm not even trying to put my most pessimistic spin on it. This is the reality any critical thinking person would have to acknowledge.

We need to fight to defend our civil liberties, to understand the meaning of "black lives matter," to allow our LGBT community to just live their fucking lives. We have to protect reproductive rights and fight theocracy. But I fear that we may be so fatigued from those struggles that we are unable to solidly plant our feet in a peace movement and that our fragmented society will be used as a tool to flaming the fires of war.

So what will the gust of wind that will blow the house of cards over? Iran bombing Israel? Israel bombing Egypt? A terrorist attack? Another stupid fucking phone call with Taiwan? I don't know. And I hope I never find out.

I want to be wrong so hard. I want people to be able to look back at this blog and say "Chuck, you were a X and you totally interpreted the current events incorrectly."
I suggest X = "silly goose" OR "dumb motherfucker." Either one has a poetry to it I can appreciate.

I'll be happy to be wrong. More than anything in the world I want to be wrong. And I'll put some skin in the game. In four years if we avoid war, if our economy is booming, if our unemployment is low, if our civil liberties are secure, if women can safely get abortions, if native lands are protected, if incarceration is down, if we return to community policing, if we have healthy trade relationships with the rest of the word, if cyber security is fortified, and America can guarantee that democracy will be preserved and our elections are safe and trustworthy, I'll vote for Trump. But for that to happen something needs to happen to seriously restore my optimism.

Call me what you will.

R.A.M.O.N.E.S.

I don't often quote myself but on the morning of July 12th I awoke and found a news article on The Ramones Family Retrospective Facebook page about Tommy Ramone's death and posted this status update:
"If your legacy was that you in were the greatest American rock 'n roll band then I think you did all right. Goodbye, Tommy, the last Ramone standing."

People "Liked" my comment because it was something that resonated with them. One dude made a comment about another band, Grand Funk Railroad, possibly holding the title of "greatest American rock 'n roll band" but for me it's a no-brainer.

Their hometown, New York City, is my idea of the quintessential American city: culturally fragmented yet somehow unified, capitalistic, and burgeoning with possibility and pain. There wasn't a single ideology represented by the Ramones. There wasn't an activist spirit. They didn't write an advice column. They didn't ask you to identify with them. They just said what was going on.

Sometimes they wanted to pick up chicks in school. Sometimes they wanted to go to the beach. Sometimes they wanted to hock their stuff for heroin. Sometimes they fucked dudes for money but would kill you if you questioned their sexuality. They were a bunch of reprobates doing something that is purely American: playing rock n' roll for fun. F-U-N

They played a Trashmen cover. They played a Rivieras cover. They played a Ronettes cover. They were uniquely positioned in that they were able to take dashes of the speed and pop sensibilities of early rock, the energy of garage rock, and fragments of America's psychotronic cultural history without being hippies, without being ironic, and without popular approval. They set the stage for a hundred thousand bands that learned to reduce rock down to it's necessary components and shoot from the hip but none of there followers ever seemed to make you want to clap your hands and dance like they did.

To me, that's America. We struggle with racism, sexism, homophobia, drug abuse, homelessness, war, a growing police state and all sorts of absolutely fucked up things but, goddamnit, we know how to have a good time even at our own expense. Let's face it, sniffing glue is a pretty terrible idea but if you know how to write a catchy song about it I'll play that shit loud enough to shake a grave.

I Hope They All Die

** Even though I have read all of the books in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series that have been released up until this point I am going restrict any commentary on the subject in this or any future possible blog entries to events chronicled on the show "Game of Thrones." This decision is based on two things 1) more people are familiar with the television series than the novels and 2) they change things in the adaptation, often dramatically so. **

Excluding the dozen or so characters in the GOT world that I loved who have been murdered, mortally wounded in battle, or executed so far none of my favorite characters are dead. This primarily means the characters that, like most fans, I have latched on to early in both the books and the show: Tyrion, Arya, Danaerys, and Jon Snow. Likewise, less likable characters but still highly intriguing characters like Petyr Baelish, Varys, and the whole Lannister clan have also escaped death. I guess it's because I'm so engrossed by the richness and thoroughness of their characterization that I find myself so emotionally attached to Stannis and the Hound but it's great that a reader and viewer can care about what happens to them.

It's because of this love of these characters that I can't wait to see them die. Of course I have my own questions about each and every character (will Bran ride a dragon? will we find out about Jon's true parentage?) but the fact that they all are in constant peril excites me. Danaerys, is one of the most popular characters; she's certainly the one fans want to see amass even greater power. Now imagine what drama, what emotion would be pulled from fans if she died. George R. R. Martin creates the most spectacular, imaginative deaths for his characters and if he were to kill off Dany that it would have to be the most shocking and narratively significant event in all of the ASOIAF universe. 

Of course it would be met with fan outrage. That's the point! OUTRAGE. It would be so emotionally jarring that readers would feel like they've lost a friend and hero. I cried while both reading, and years later viewing, the execution of Ned Stark. As an artist who hopes to create an emotional experience with my audience I truly admire and respect the audacity of a writer like Martin who would be willing to put both the lives of his characters and the hearts of his fans in peril.

Star Wars de Mayo

Holidays are made up anyway so I don't know why this one should mean anything to me but I don't celebrate "Star Wars Day." Not on May the 4th anyway. "STAR WARS" came out on May 25, 1977 so I celebrate on that day. At least I did up until 7 years ago.

On May 25, 2007 my friend Blake and I decided we would watch ALL SIX MOVIES in one day. Not in one sitting because this was back when I smoked pot so we had to take a burrito break between trilogies. But regardless, we watched all six in one day.

This was an all-around terrible decision. Not only did it further entrench our displeasure with the so-called prequel trilogy but it really made watching the original trilogy a chore. After 7 and half hours of awful shit we weren't able to slip into that nostalgic pleasure that is brought on by watching those movies. It was a mind-numbing, brutal experience and I haven't watched a "STAR WARS" movie since then. Why would I? Even if I could I wouldn't be able to watch the original trilogy on Blu-ray so it means that I have to except an inferior experience no matter what.

Screw That Guy

I had this one friend who killed himself a few years ago. He hanged himself (pictures are hung, humans are hanged). On the day his divorce was finalized he placed a bolt into the archway leading from his dining room to his kitchen, tied a noose to it, and hanged himself with his dog watching. Friends found him the next day when he didn't report into work. The most awkward moment of my life was when I met up with his elderly mom a couple of days later at his house and she asked, "is this where Shawn hung himself?" I let the grammatical error slide.

That's all fucked up. Leaving all that emotional baggage to his ex, not letting anyone know that his dog would need to be fed. And perhaps worst of all was that he was this mega collector with awesome stuff and a pile of debt that he left his mom to deal with. All she had in her life was her son and he traded her that for some dumb shit. As it turns out two months later she got a heat stroke in one of his storage spaces, fell and knocked her head and died. The last time I saw her alive was when she was on the front row of his memorial service and I spoke about missing my friend.

This dude was like my big brother and I haven't forgiven him for killing himself and leaving things the way he did. I hope I can some day but here we are, over 3 years later, and I still get pissed. When folks post on Facebook how much they miss him and their conversations and whatnot I feel disconnected from that person. Maybe it's a flaw on my part, I don't know. But this is the first time I've publicly shared these feelings with anyone and since no one reads my blog anyway I figured I would get it out there.

That stupid fucker would have loved "Drive" and the last two seasons of "Breaking Bad." The dog found a new home.

They Throw Everything At Him

A friend once asked me for some advice on a script she was developing about a professional wrestler. She wasn't interested in the "hows" of professional wrestling, such as "how does one become a wrestler" or "what is the thought process when creating the unusual art that is professional wrestling?" Her line of questioning focused more on "who becomes a wrestler" and more importantly "why does a person become a wrestler?"

Clearly that answer is unique to each individual involved and as you can imagine everyone in our industry is a bit of an odd bird. I sometimes joke that the people in wrestling range from the unique to the mentally ill. Though involvement may sometimes be for the wrong reasons almost all of us do it because we simply feel like we have to.

There is a unique experience that comes from professional wrestling that is found in no other art form that I know. There is the ballet-like expression of human emotion through physical movement, there is improvisation interwoven through conspired melodies like jazz. But to combine them into one form with a beautiful, sometimes malevolent, intention of manipulating people into states of cathartic fury is unlike any other I've seen.

Though she had seen the film already I advised her to watch Darren Aranofsky's The Wrestler. Though it does illustrate a darker side of professional wrestling, the side of drugs and damaged relationships, it also shows the kind of personality that thrives in that business. Due to it's numerous allusions to the Jesus story I sometimes call the film "The Passion of the Ram." Randy "The Ram's" side is pierced in his match against Necro Butcher, he has a messianic pathology that leads him to sacrifice everything for the enjoyment of his fans, and eschewed by society and scourged in the ring. A direct comparison is even made by the character Cassidy who quotes the Bible by way of the film The Passion of the Christ:

                    "He was pierced for our
                    transgressions, He was crushed for
                    our iniquities. The punishment that
                    brought us peace was upon Him, and
                    by His wounds we were healed."

It is as if the sacrificial lamb has reached full adulthood and has become The Ram. I know that my involvement in wrestling makes me predisposed to enjoying this film but I'd advise you to look up Penn Jillette's "Penn Points" in which he reviews this movie. He is an artist with whom I have great admiration and I think his time as a performer gives him a special understanding of the picture.

I've heard many criticisms of our "sport" and consider myself an ambassador for our business. My character, my "gimmick" if you will, is "The Voice of Reason" because it is a reflection of who I am in real life. I do not believe in supernatural powers and am an advocate for science and skepticism. I do not use drugs or alcohol because, as a human, I am already driven by enough irrational thinking and I feel that as person of some minor influence (particularly to children) that I should demonstrate that toughness is more than just physical.

The Muppets and R'hllor

The following is an unedited instant message conversation between myself and my friend and co-worker Jarred Lee http://deafrogue.blogspot.com/. 
I make no apologies for my grammatical errors, FYI. 

Charles: so what is it about the Muppets that you connect with? why do you love them so much?

Jarred Lee: I always liked how real they seemed. Their distinct personalities mixed with the format of The Muppet Show and the different Muppet movies

Charles: i think that's why i like Miss Piggy

Charles: because she seems like she and maybe Kermit are the most complex characters

Charles: i was reading her back story and i was actually quite wrong about the body image thing

Charles: it's crazy how much Frank Oz put into developing her

Jarred Lee: Yeah, they always felt more like actors, themselves, than puppets

Charles: I know I wasn't aware of this as a child but I think the thing that got me was that the Muppets just intrinsically good.

Charles: Even Crazy Harry, you know?

Charles: He was disruptive but he wasn't trying to hurt anyone. He was just chaotic.

Charles: I think that was a reflection of the kind of man Jim Henson was. 

Charles: A man that believed in the goodness of people and the power of imagination.

Charles: I actually get teary-eyed when I think of the beauty of it.

Charles: There's just so much cynicism in the world. So much hate.

Charles: And he was the exact opposite of it.

Charles: And if you look at "The Dark Crystal" or "Labryinth" you'll see he's not afraid of representing darkness.

Charles: But he also believes in the power to illuminate. Which I find truly precious.

Jarred Lee: Very well-said

Jarred Lee: Even as children, I think that we're mostly capable of sensing a deeper meaning to things, and I feel that that came across very clearly with Jim Henson's creations. 

Charles: I think you're very right.

Jarred Lee: Which aided their almost universal acclamation and appreciation 

Charles: People want something to aspire to, I believe. They want inspiration.

Charles: That's my great criticism of the secular community (and why I'm not fully a part of it). Is that they so often criticize religion without realizing that fundamental truth.

Charles: Yes, I dislike religion and find great fault with it. But I don't find fault with the human need for inspiration.

Jarred Lee: I completely agree. As humans, I feel that we need something to put our faith in. My main issue with religion has always stemmed from my rejection of theism. I believe that a moral values and social etiquette can exist without the belief in deities. I've always felt that religion's descent into pettiness stems from the competitive nature of theistic beliefs.   

Charles: Continue, please. I'm curious about this line of thought because I personally like what I consider "true" competition.

Jarred Lee: Well, I believe that religions are social constructs at their core. From what I've observed and read, the basic ideas of "good" and "evil" (read: right and wrong) seem to fairly static across the major religions. From what I can tell, only religions that have appeared in opposition to other religions seem to differ in that regard. That leads me to believe that defining those values are intrinsically important to the formation of any religion. 

Jarred Lee: But, as a social construct, there has to be an element of control, as well. Religion has a limitless potential for influence, so it's only natural that the creators of a religion would look to the supernatural for that element, as its influence is impossible to argue and can be elevated to any level on a whim. With that said, from a religious perspective, it is difficult to make allowances for supernatural forces that exist outside of your religion.

Jarred Lee: That's what I am referring to when I talk about the competitive nature of theistic religions

Charles: The night is dark and full of terrors, am I right?

Jarred Lee: lol

Jarred Lee: Yes