Ten reasons why birthdays should be obsolete

'Tis my Birthday! Time for my yearly wish: in lieu of gifts please think about your ancestors in Africa, and if possible sacrifice part of your life expectancy for them. Okay, I get it, you're too busy running errands and wasting time watching screens, but I had to try. I had no say on this day, so I refuse to participate in this construct of commercialism. In this 'look at me' society people are obsessed with gloating about some day they randomly appeared on planet earth.

Personally, I think it should be a crime to advertise your date of birth on all forms of social media, heck, even in newspaper classifieds (for those oldies among us). No one cares that by sheer luck you were born as a creature that can use 10% of your brain capacity. Talking about life's lottery, I'm outraged that in 2018 there are still way too many nations that have a life expectancy of less than 50 years of age.

I give you the dreaded ten reasons (life expectancy for both sexes, World Health Organization).

 Sierra Leone (44.4)
 Angola (45.8)
 Central African Republic (45.9)
 Chad (46.1)
 Lesotho (46.6)
 Cote d'Ivoire (47.0)
 Nigeria (47.7)
 Somalia (47.8)
 Mozambique (49.6)
 South Sudan (49.9)

Think about it, you could have been one of those unlucky to be born in a country hard pressed to crack the half century mark for longevity. Please remember your fellow humans when you're showing off your invincible life in some plastic paradise (finger firmly pointed at the Western world). I will reconsider my negativity towards birthdays when one of the ten countries (from the homeland of humans, Africa) reach at least 70 in life expectancy.

In the meantime, I will yawn anytime someone waits impatiently for their "friends" (even though most don't know your middle name) to wish them a happy birthday on some timeline. Sorry to burst your bubble, but collecting countless worshipers online is plain sad - pure definition of insecurity.  Same goes for 80-year-old's whining about health concerns, remember, some folk can't even blow out 50 candles due simply to their place of birth.

Szia/Ajoj (hello) from Hungary and Slovakia!

Corruptions Perceptions Index (Transparency International) has Hungary and Slovakia at 66th and 45th respectively (U.S. ranked 16th for those playing trivia at home).

Although, these two countries hand down destroy the U.S. in lack of murders - Hungary averages 1.48, Slovakia 0.88, U.S. 4.88  homicides per 100,000. It pays not to have political parties and gun lobbyists that actively seek bloodshed among their people. The biggest cause of mass shooters are always homegrown citizens, so the argument of terrorism is null and void when you can't stop your own from being aroused by killing machines.

Take a tip from Hank (as Americans refer to humans called Henry): life's too short to waste with your eyes hemmed to a screen,  shut off the idiot box and your plastic devices and explore the world around you, even if they happen to be corrupt nations or ones that place guns above human dignity.

Wherever I travel, I always pledge allegiance to that nation, after all, we're all earthlings. Here's to the great nations Magyarország (Hungary) and Slovenská Republika (Slovakia).

                                                             

Hungarian Parliament, 2/20/2018

                                                       

Grassalkovich Palace, 2/22/2018

Telling it like it is, NYC style!

In NYC I act as the locals would do, I feel right at home with my fast talking and outspoken ways.

Last time I stood on 5th Ave this building housed a racist illiterate sexual predator. Now it's used to waste taxpayers money on security detail for the aforementioned creature disguised as President.

Only apt I went full soap box in front of this monstrosity, to out the very definition of an ugly American!

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