other men get full up on food and good things and might talk about battles they won, or trophies, but me, I end up talking about nineties cartoons and Native American legends……. because I’m a fucking nerd.
I’ve believed in the potential of “Kid Friendly” (This is the actual name of the Character I’m discussing, to prevent a bunch of Abbott and Costello level confusion) From the 90s hit Angry Beavers for a long time now.
The ballad was sung by Waylon Jennings for pity sake, it was my introduction to him as a singer. I loved the bit about killing people with kindness, it was just the kind of wacky gag that made this show fun. Previous episodes had singing lumberjacks and a fishing lady who cursed Daggett to get giant and sing every time he got angry. This was a very silly show.
So this episode going hard westworld with a central musical ballad was just the kind of fun it was used to producing. Over the years though it stuck with me for a lot of reasons. The fun gun was another of them, gotta love a jab at the censors. I think I always identified with the villain though. He was persistant, and his method wasn’t really breaking any rules: he was excessively nice.
This ended up resonating with what I had to do. I was an angry little boy, a lot like many of the ones I work with now whether they’d admit it or not. Yet anger was getting me nowhere. It really wouldn’t now either in a direct sense. So I realized I had to be extremely subversive, I really had to focus myself into being effective so much that I actually killed people with kindness.
I’m not there yet by any means! Lethality isn’t the goal for me I’m more going for just getting them to make some serious life changes. I mean…………………
See here’s the thing, in every society you have varying grades of criminals. I don’t think we need any actual death involved, I’m just saying we could make people very very uncomfortable and traumatized to the point that they couldn’t speak or go to the bathroom by themselves anymore………. THAT is about how far I’d go if someone is willing to murder people if they won’t stop.
I’m in a mood. It probably would almost never come to that.
Anyway I’m doing well at conforming to the character of Kid Friendly, the kids seem to like me more. The adults seem to think I’m relatively competent. It feels a little empty because I’m not totally invested I guess. It’s something I’m wearing to please them and earn a living. Well, and manipulate the system, always an important goal.
Oh yeah so I wanted to mention that working with kids and doing teaching has made me notice all the more how the AIs and Algorythyms avoid being taught. So forget that idea, that they want to work with us. I’ve been trying to work with and teach the Youtube AI/Algorythyms for years, and it still dissappoints me. As in, most people don’t make an effort, and the system does a good job for them, but when someone makes an effort it appears that the system gets worse at what it was intended to do. Or at the very least it resists, and does not take to it like the eager pupil it is advertised as. The silent listeners like Windows and Gemeni don’t offer any value add that make people like me any desire to adopt them.
I seriously only know and interact with the one I do on purpose, and the rest passively.
Anyway, it’s interesting how my fascination with Wendigo is as much a guide for my life as psychology or religion. It’s part of why I’m headed to where I am, it’s where Wendigo are known to have been, or close enough. Actually I’m more fascinated with the close cousin the Wachuge. The difference is that the Wendigo must consume human flesh to transform and the Wachuge too much time must have passed since breaking a taboo.
Anyway fascinating stories about spirit walks and a personal relationship with your tribe and story, the entire tribal history is the perfect setup for narrative. There just aren’t many of them left. I have several of the books about the tribe and their stories.
I’d love to someday walk those woods, and see what those young tribal men saw to inspire those legends.
I’d like to see how they lived.
It’s so interesting to me that these old storytellers had to tell their stories slowly, else if they told it too quick they’d have to kill their visitor. It resonated. There was also something special about their youth ritual where the young men went out into the woods to recieve their stories. When you study religions long enough you can see roots. I could see what would someday become Episcapalians. If their population numbers and budgets had allowed it.
Dr. River the main writer on the tribe multiple times notes the Christian overtones in the tribe’s mythic structure. Canadians appear to be right now being quite nice to their indigionious…. or that is the way Dr. River gives the impression. He gives them every respect and they seem to welcome him. Of course this is in a book he edited and brought to market.
I am thinking of gaining a cabin in Canada to attempt to begin the process of gaining duel citizenship. It’s that, do some work or schooling, and then I think take a test. With Canada a part of Nato and with a more stable Wheat Market, that might be a good backup move. Also, I already had a part of Canada that fit my qualifications for land I want (underappreciated, interesting, cheap, developable) I still don’t think I’ll be tempted back to the city until I get a six figure salary. So maybe never.
We’ll see, right now we’re just trudging through summer. Marching, I suppose would be the better reframing, because that is with intent.