MMXVIII has arrived, and soon will be forgotten, let's make the most of it!

New Year's resolutions for each of my five loves (besides my better half, of course).

Art

I have been fortunate to become bemused while looking at the Mona Lisa in Paris' wonderland, The Louvre. By the way, I still haven't recovered from her happiness, or is that sadness? What I want from art is more bemusement, give me pieces that actually force we mere mortals to use more than 10% of our brain. Society is already sinking by respecting plastic, we need creativity to save us! Enough of 15 seconds of fame via social media and respecting false idols that wouldn't know what critical thinking and intellect was, even it was explained to them.

Film

To see a film that actually make my brain explode, so much so, that I will lose sleep over it for all of eternity. All this technology and no one can match the awe of Blue Velvet (1986). Time for me to consider a change of career just to rectify the sad state of art house cinema. I urge the Texas Film Commission to take a page out of the burgeoning film communities in the South, such as Georgia and Louisiana and provide more incentive for film making. It's downright embarrassing that 'Dallas Buyers Club' was shot in New Orleans.

Hockey

For my beloved Minnesota Wild to finally lift Lord Stanley's Mug. There's less chance of this happening than Texans divorcing from firearms, but a new year brings with it delusions of grandeur. If a miracle occurs, I will ride my bike straight through middle America to go crazy with the great State of Hockey. I can only live in a city that houses an NHL team, that leaves me with 31 choices throughout North America (apologies to the rest of the world). In 2018, I want the 30 cities outside Dallas to lure me away with offers of season tickets, preferably those located in regions that play outdoor hockey on frozen ponds.

Politics

Place a blanket ban on discussing illiterate bigots that occupy higher office. As humans we already devote way too much time to meaningless things, do you really want to die knowing you spent every waking moment on social media? Or heaven forbid, watching news than actually experiencing life. If you add up time spent on the toilet (had to go there), sleeping, participating in head down hobbies (abusing your eyesight by glaring into plastic gadgets) and staring into an idiot box, then you'll soon realize that you're not alive. Time to wake up from being a zombie and participate in that thing we say but fail to actually do: live life to the fullest!

Travel

To go riding in the heart of Europe during winter - this is a distinct possibility, seeing as I'll be heading that way in February. Also, tick another U.S. State Capitol building off my bucket list - there's a capital city in a republic west of Texas that might just get a visit. When you live in city that experiences 8 months of summer, you no longer have an appetite for summer travel, so I declare 2018 the year of icy travels.

Lastly, I urge everyone to make a stand, even if it's a small one. Personally, I will continue my crusade of telling-off gun nutters, racists, womanizers and hypocrites. If I can stare down semi-automatic carrying rednecks, than you to can put a subhumans in their place. It's easy, just remember you can die at any moment, don't waste time, protect future generations by calling out those among our species willing to destroy it. Now, excuse me as I start the year with a 10 mile bike ride in freezing temps to celebrate being alive!

Bright spots, in an otherwise down year for Indie cinema

Before I begin, let me salute Bill Paxton and Harry Dean Stanton, two vastly underrated actors that appeared in one of my favorite shows, 'Big Love'. I'm glad the DIFF (Dallas International Film Festival) honored Paxton, after all he grew up in Fort Worth. Stanton was a superb character actor, as his recent cameo in 'Twin Peaks' proved. They will be missed...

2017 was an average year for Independent cinema. I blame the dumbing down of society, where the aim is to keep your head down via plastic gadgets, watching inane clips or god forbid tweeting out racist drool, instead of leaving the house to appreciate the arts. When society attacks critical thinking and craves the quick fix it become a race to the bottom of humanity.

In all the doom and gloom, there were 10 gems that restored my faith in film making. Maybe one day I will find a spot for them in my all-time favorite list (refer below).

A Ghost Story - one of the greatest eating scenes in cinematic history. Shot locally in the DFW area on a $100,000 budget (a rarity in today's money hungry climate).

Buster's Mal Heart (Sarah Adina Smith) - I'm not embarrassed to say it: I have a man crush on Rami Malek.

Call Me by Your Name (Luca Guadagnino) - three languages, sublime cinematography and peaches (you'll never look at this fruit the same way), what more do you need!

Get Out (Jordan Peele) - darkly comic tale exposing racism. The film America desperately needed in the wake of bigots crawling out of their bunkers.

Good Time (Benny and Josh Safdie) - teen heartthrob Robert Pattinson makes the indie transition and it works. Take a bow Safdie brothers, true definition of what it means to work outside the studio system.

Hjartasteinn/Heartstone (Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson) - as an avid supporter of Icelandic film this film doesn't disappoint. I was fortunate to see this at the 2017 DIFF, goes to show that the bond between Texas and Iceland is booming! Come May, 2018 it will grow even more when Icelandair and WOW air begin direct flights between Reykjavik and DFW.

Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig) - no, it's not about Lyndon Johnson's better half. Nothing Hollywood about this film, it's directed and written by a Sacramento native, loosely based on her coming-of-age experiences in California's capital.

The Florida Project (Sean Baker) - Willem Dafoe automatically makes any film better, but he's overshadowed in this one by amazing novice child actors. Powerful portrayal of what it means to live on the poverty line (in the shadows of Disney World), it perfectly encapsulates that the American Dream for many is just that, a dream.

The Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro) - del Toro comes close to topping his masterpiece, Pan's Labyrinth. Together with Alejandro González Iñárritu, both are showcasing the rich tapestry of creativity coming out of Mexico.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh)- Frances McDormand is a national treasure, very few can match her ability as a character actor. She has not sold-out for a paycheck or succumbed to the surgeons knife to appease sleazy executives. If she doesn't win the 2018 Oscar for Best Actress, than the Academy should dissolve.

*For those that missed it the first time around.

https://globaleditorial.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-best-films-according-to-yours-truly.html

Tickle me pink: Hollywood's harsher on predators than Washington

Two steps to start the process of wiping the political slate clean of deviants. Step one: throw the 25th Amendment at the sexual predator in chief (I will never type his name, as subhumans deserve the utmost disrespect). Step two: bulldoze the William Jefferson Clinton Library, my apologies to oily men! Now that Hollywood is giving the boot to sexual predators (albeit belatedly), politics needs to follow suit.

Bizarre times we live in when the entertainment business is harsher on deviants than politics is on taxpayer funded representatives. Full disclosure: I'm an extreme feminist, I will never open my door to anyone who mistreats woman or supports anything or anyone involved in this repulsive disorder. Yes, I include churches and political parties in this list. It's more evident than ever when you have religious types going out of their way to admire a full blown pedophile (I won't mention his name, but he stalks underage girls in Alabama). First of all the GOP should be discredited for backing a sexual harasser as President, secondly they should be disbanded over backing a child molester.

Now, now I'm apolitical, especially in this country where we have two backward conservative parties, not a progressive in sight. My above comments stand, Billie's library must be removed and every other pathetic Democrat that sits idly by allowing to be walked over, too scared to actually fight for a liberal democracy. We get it, conservatives in this country hate Muslims and minorities. Classic lines: I hate the gays and those brown folk praying weirdly. Hate to break it to you, but Islam isn't exactly pro-gay, so maybe deep down you're lovers. The so-called liberals allowing these hypocrites to getaway with murder are scared of being seen too Scandinavian. You know, those people from a part of the world that create world leading companies, yet maintain a social welfare system that is the envy of thee world. Next time you shop at IKEA, remember, you're supporting a "socialist" country that gives equal footing to promoting strong business development and maintaining a safety net for all, not just for the millionaires club.

In lieu of Christmas gifts, we should all tell our loved ones to disown everyone in their life that abuses woman or supports an organization that does. Funny, I thought only Hollywood types would defend sleazy men who major in abusing young girls, didn't think a bandwagon of baptists and evangelicals would be rolling out the red carpet for a pedophile. Maybe they're basking in the glory of voting for a thrice-married bigoted maniac that has rubbed himself onto countless woman forcefully. Sorry to put that image in your head, but I want you to think about supporting a predator for President and a child molester as a Senate candidate. Just to reiterate, there's no difference between American Christian conservatives and ones of the Muslim variety, they both lose sleep over the gays and get off on supporting filth that spit on woman.

PS. I also support the bulldozing of every Presidential library that honors war criminals, including the one that stands down the road from my residence (hint: named after an illiterate bumpkin that slaughtered some 500,000 innocents). This man went to Yale and has the same grade-three intellect as that Wharton educated tangerine sociopath. Sincerest apologies to 8-year-old's, I still trust you more with the nuclear codes than the aforementioned simpletons.

Faith restored in the American experiment

Preface: The title refers to liberal ideals, not the country overall. Until the U.S. loses its no. 1 ranking (per capita among first world nations) re firearm related deaths (domestic terrorism), it shall remain a pretend experiment. I'll say it till I'm blue in the face: same energy scapegoating the undocumented and minorities should go into eradicating killing machines. To those wondering...I say these exact words when standing in front of AR-15 carrying "compassionate" Christians. Actually, I go one further, I also point out that altar boy Charles Whitman is smiling from hell due to his legacy being upheld.

An historic night in the Good Old USA!. Danica Roem was elected in the 13th District of Virginia, thus becoming the first openly transgender person elected and seated in a statehouse. Even more impressive she (born male) defeated Robert G. Marshall (a 13-term incumbent) with medieval views, you know those conservative Americans who preach freedom and harp on about the US being God's gift to humanity, yet share the exact views as you would find openly discussed in Riyadh. I forgot, they also need to please V. V. Putin who openly propagates against the LGBTQ community. I guess Republicans  candidates and their supporters must adhere to Putinism, after all, he's the spiritual leader of the GOP.

In reference to Roem, This is a quote from a conservative activist in Prince William County, VA: “She’s never had menstrual cramps, and she’s never had a baby, and she never will be able to...She can take all the estrogen she wants, but she’ll never be a woman.”

I guess we've found the next US ambassador to Saudi Arabia. This is why American nut jobs need to take out passports, (I know it's asking too much as they think the world is flat) they can move to a illiberal nation if you can't hack living in a liberal democracy. It saddens me that the nation connected to my ancestry (Armenia) nowhere near Iceland when it comes to openness, more like an Alabaman losing sleep over same-sex unions. So to all those American Christians scared of losing their nation to ungodly types, you can move to Armenia (worlds' oldest Christian nation) where they openly berate and beat the "gays", which of course Jesus would disapprove of, but hey, who cares about that socialist tree-huger.

Fear not Canada, U.S. might not have a 38-year-old Sikh leading a major political party (Jagmeet Singh) nor a three-time elected Muslim mayor of a major city (Naheed Nenshi, Calgary) but  it's still a liberal beacon (albeit with the death penalty, prison incarceration rates only matched by Russia and death bu firearm like no other advanced nation) giving opportunities to all even if they're gender fluid. Talking Sikh, also on Nov. 7th, Hoboken, NJ elected America's first Sikh mayor (Ravi Bhalla). Furthermore, proving that the land of immigrants is back in business, the anti-refugee mayor of Helena, Montana (James E. Smith) lost to a Liberian refugee (Wilmot Collins) - wow!

Who knows, maybe in 2020 Americans will elect a 35-year-old secular transgender intellectual as President of these United States. This might just start a mass exodus of rednecks to Mother Russia, and wouldn't that just restore America's standing as an actual progressive nation. If the Republic of Ireland is secure enough in its own to skin to elect an openly gay first generation Indian Prime Minister, than the nation that proudly boasts about liberty can do likewise.

Yawning: what Dallasites do whenever you mention 11/22/63

As a Dallasite it's in my duty to let out a collective yawn over JFK. By now every nook and cranny over the assassination has been beaten to death (pardon the pun). For those with a short memory, George H.W. Bush signed the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act on 10/26/92. This put in effect the motion that the last remaining classified documents be released by 10/26/17. In a 'Wag the Dog' moment, the current illegitimate Neanderthal-in-chief has decided to arouse conspiracy theorists. See kiddies, when you're a thrice-married sleazebag that consistently mocks the disabled, woman, minorities and everything in between, you go back in time to deflect from the horrifying excuse of your Presidency.

There is a caveat, some records will remain sealed for another 180 days, citing national security concerns. What's the bet they come out when NY's finest maniac is caught sending out tweets (full of grammatical errors) whilst working, which in his world equates to watching TV, because running a nation requires less work ethic than what's needed for an entry-level job.

Grassy Knoll, 5/27/17

Post assassination all governments have been legally required to release any classified documents pertaining to the crime scene, so this new batch doesn't answer any lingering questions about shots being fired, it's more of a baffling string of long winded documents shedding more light on the players involved. Not surprisingly, the innuendo over RFK-Marilyn Monroe gets more airtime, only this time it finally gets squashed, which will no doubt send hair salons into a frenzy! The highlight is a feisty Nikita Khrushchev scolding Dallas police for being incompetent and for the American right harboring dark views on JFK. Little did he know that the modern-day version of these loony rednecks are in awe of Mother Russia. Lee Harvey Oswald's love of Russia was a indeed a prelude, one of the documents even mentions his atrocious attempt at speaking Russian at the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City.

(Note: If you want to waste your life decoding all the juicy gossip, by all means visit the National Archives. I don't post links, as I want my readers to lose calories by using their fingers to search the word wide web. Better still, visit the actual offices at 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD). 

However, just the announcement by that disgusting specimen is enough to get people who don't reside in Dallas to lose sleep over our fair city. Dear world: if you're going to worry about a head being blown off, could you please relocate here and spend your living days on the Grassy Knoll.

Speaking of disgusting specimens, that thing with the tangerine complexion on the outside and satanic soul inside wasted taxpayers money by holding a fundraiser at the Belo Mansion (a grand historic home that I will never again set foot inside, due to it aiding and abetting a white collar gangster). All in secret by the way, cause a President of the people is all about cloak and daggers, only able to mingle with those willing to pay up to $100,000 to be seen with Mussolini 2.0.

Elm St X, 5/27/17

At a local level, JFK's assassination site pulls in the tourists, always ranks at the top of the to-do lists. Obviously these folk aren't art lovers, cause we all know which city has the nations largest urban arts district (if you answered NYC then you haven't been reading my blog, it's Dallas). I'm sure there's some conspiracy theorists out there who believe the assassination was a plot by tourist officials to pump money into the local economy. As one who has lived in Big D for 817 days (counting days is a passion of mine), I can say that no local would willingly stand on the Grassy Knoll and take a photo with the X marking the deadly spot, unless they are accompanied by a non-Dallasite or it so happens to be JFK's 100th birthday (refer to yours truly partaking in some morbid contemplation).