Arnold Schwarzenegger: A Modern Da Vinci?

Hey there my fellow creatures of the night!

I know that no one really reads my stuff and that most of you are bored out of your mind already. So considering I'm pretty much writing for myself and that my blog is really more like a diary than anything else, I have decided to write an article about a person and a subject that are very interesting to me.

I know most of you jumped from your seats when you read the title of my latest blog. And you're right. If I had read this same blog 8 months ago I probably would have discarded it immediately, but now, after all I've been through and after all I have read and seen about the person who's going to be the subject of this essay, I have completely changed my mind.

Yes, I know that comparing Schwarzenegger to Da Vinci is nothing less than a sacrilege, and I know that I am probably insulting everyone who has ever even heard the word "culture", but this comparison arises as a reflection of contemporary society.

There is no denying that the world has dumbed down considerably since the creation of massive media and ever since "normal people" (people who lack the necessary skills that were once required for someone to become famous or well known - nowadays anyone can open a blog and be known-) received the power to become famous, REAL culture as we once knew it, has disappeared. Past idols such a Beethoven, Michelangelo, Marx and Shakespeare have been replaced by people like Britney Spears, Dr. Phil, Stephen King, and Jenna Jameson (not to say anything about their virtuosities or performances, but let's face it, they can't be compared to the great minds and artists of the past). Culture as we once knew it is no longer, and as a consequence, this dumbing down of the general population has also brought a dumbing down of heroes and idles.
Da Vinci was a Universal Man, A Polymath, a Renaissance man, a man who was able to do everything and excelled in various different fractions of hummanity. A unique man that will never be replaced or even rivaled.

No doubt, people like Da Vinci are very scarce (to say the least), and the last recorded real polymath died in 1965. Dr. Albert Schweitzer from Alsace was a real modern day Da Vinci with a very large list of achievements and areas of excellence: Philosopher (known for his reverence of life), Theologist, Preacher and ordained minister (who was also one of the best known Theorists on the life of Christ), Writer, Physician (Specialized in Tropical Medicine), Virtuose Concert Organist and Composer (Expert on the music of Bach), Hummanitarian (he lived in Africa for decades helping the locals and won the Nobel Peace Prize because of his efforts), and the list goes on. But Dr. Schweitzer (who by the way is a distant cousin of Jean Paul Sartre) died in 1965, and since then culture has dumbed down to such an extent that we no longer have such great men present in our culture. The great writers and philosophers are dying off, and few (if any) are surfacing. Polymaths like Da Vinci and Sartre have disappeared almost completely, and today, our heroes are limited to pop culture icons and mediocre "men of letters".

While searching for the world's greatest minds in current times however (a modern polymath), I have only come across one man that fills in the role and the title. And this man, believe it or not, is Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I know what many of you are thinking (maybe not, maybe I'm the only one reading this)... and yes, his position as Governator is kind of Kitsch and his speeches sound more like those given by a stand-up comedian than a poltician, but nevertheless I find that Mr. Schwarzenegger is not only a unique human being, but he is one of the greatest people of our time (again a reflection of contemporary society) and a real modern day Da Vinci.

According to Webster's Dictionary, a Polymath is a person who excels in a wide variety of fields. Da Vinci did, Aristotle did, Schweitzer did... and Schwarzenegger did too.

Arnold is World Wide bodybuilding champion who won the world premier bodybuilding contest Mr. Olympia no less than 7 times (that's 1 area he excels in), he is a world known action film star who has won a golden globe for best actor (area 2), a world known politician who currently governs the state of California (area 3) and could possibly become president of the United States in the Future and is also a well known entrepreneur and investor who has multiplied his money many times through several key investments -one of which is the Planet Hollywood Restaurant Chain- (area 4).

So yes, Arnold excels in 4 different areas, which automatically makes him a real Polymath (he's also a film director and producer and has written several books on bodybuilding, if that helps). I know he's not like Da Vinci and will never ever come even remotely close to that, but given the circumstances and the times we live in, he's as close to a polymath as we're ever going to get.

“The epoch is a reflection of its people.”

Let's face it... the man does have a lot of merit and we should celebrate him for it.

That is all.

Happy Hunting,

"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me."

The WikiVampire

High Culture Vs. Popular Culture

Hi there my fellow creatures of the night!

After a long and thoughtful hiatus from blogging, I have decided to come back with two articles on two subjects that have bothered me extensively for years. The first one will deal with the Whole Popular Culture VS. High Culture scenario... the second, with Rock as the Musical Aristocracy of our time.

AT LAST AN ARTICLE ABOUT AN ILLUMINATING SUBJECT:

There was once a time when culture was divided into two different perspectives and schools of thought: High Culture and Popular Culture (it still is but to a different extent and I will tell you why). High Culture is defined as a type of art which has been conceived by trained artists and professionals and is the maximum expression of the soul and has been proved and approved by worldwide critics, and most importantly, by time. (High Culture has resisted the passage of time and remains, to this date, as popular as when it was once created). The great paintings of Da Vinci, Rafael, Michelangelo, Picasso, the music of Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Ravel, Stravinsky as well as Classical Theater, Ballet, Opera, Literature and countless other forms of expression fit into this category. High Culture is valued mostly by experts and critics, and has survived up to the 21st century because of its quality and essence. In summary, High Culture is formed only by the best of the best and is mostly enjoyed only by a selected few who have been educated and trained in certain areas and are cultured enough to understand them and grasp their concepts.

Then we have popular culture. Popular culture has existed as long as humanity has and it is defined as the rest of the artistic spectrum; popular music, pop art, and pretty much everything else. But in contrast to High Culture, Popular Culture is not as developed and as complex.

Popular Culture and High Culture have existed forever, but because of few possible means of preserving art in the past, only the crème de la crème of art has survived the passage of time. High Culture has always won the battle over art and over popularity, and this is mostly thanks to the fact that only the legacy of educated, famous and cultured people survived to modernity. 17th century popular music had didn't survive, as its composers had absolutely no way of recording or even (at times) writing down their own music, which is why we only have limited knowledge of past popular culture... only High Culture survived. Why? We will see…

Now we live in an age of massive communications, where it is more possible to get known and become famous that at any point in the past. The internet has made it much easier to "make it" and "leave a legacy", and popular culture has taken a standpoint as a result of that.

Now what could have easily been lost with the death of its artist survives the passage of time, and this is why Popular Culture has become a dominant trait in our society. In the past, Popular Culture had no way of spreading (as it wasn't as good in quality as High Culture Was) and only la Crème De la Crème (second time I use the term) of Art and of Everything A.k.A. High Culture, traveled and became known. Now that communication is much easier and efficient, Popular Culture can travel just as fast as High Culture and becomes better known even at a faster rate.

There is no denying that Popular Culture has nowadays become the standard in art and in pretty much everything. High Culture as we knew it has receded and pretty much disappeared into the depths of the circles of the critics, artists and cultured and educated people that understand it. The Result? People no longer know what High Culture is, and the only thing they're in contact with is Popular Culture... and let’s not forget, Popular Culture is popular because of one thing: Because it is simple, easy to understand and enjoyable to the average folk... and the average folk is definitely not an educated critic who can really enjoy, understand and grasp the significance of real culture.

So in summary, Popular Culture is indeed better known than High Culture and yes, much more people prefer popular culture to high culture. But the fact of the matter is that Pop Culture is still pretty much the same as it was 300 years ago... "The art of the folk, the art of the masses, the art of the people." And, I ask you... who are the masses? Are the masses trained to critique, understand and grasp art for what it is? The answer is no. The only reason Popular Art is popular is because it is simplistic and therefore lacks depth, and therefore quality... Popular Art is much more easier to conceive than High Art (High Art is poorly understood and liked by only a few) as is therefore more likeable to the average untrained folk with zero knowledge of real art. So yes, Popular Culture has outgained High Culture, but this is only because people now have the means to reproduce their mundane art and spread it in a massive way... and because it is so simple and easy to understand, it outsells High Art, which was once the only competitor in the market....

In summary, Popular Art is more widely known than High Culture, but that doesn't deter or stop the fact that Popular Art is still vastly inferior to High Art... and there is no better proof for this than the passage of time... The Wide Spread of Popular art is very recent, and not enough time has passed for us to determine how long will Pop Art from the 60's last... But I can tell you this, if Popular Art disappeared in the past, it did because it was inferior to other forms of art.

We still listen to the Beatles, but for how long? I don't know how long we will be listening to the Beatles for (Popular Culture), but I do know that we will forever listen to the music of Bach... Period. No point in denying it. The Beatles and Popular Music might have been great and they might have changed the world, but when compared as an art form, to the immortal music of Johann Sebastian Bach, the Beatles and the Entire Pop Culture spectrum fall tragically short... why? Because no matter what happens, High Culture will always be superior to Popular culture... THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED HIGH CULTURE!!!!!!

So... conclusion? Popular Culture is only widely known because it has been helped by mass media. Without mass media and communications, Popular Culture would have been lost just as it was lost over the last few centuries. Why? Because it lacks quality and is only liked and enjoyed by people who don't know about art and don't have the education required to understand and grasp what real art and what real quality is. High Culture has always been there and will be there. Its followers have always been a very small educated and culture minority who, up until the age of massive communications, held absolute power over the expansion of art and music. But now with the help of communications Popular Art has blinded everyone and overpowered the market. But no matter what happens, High Art will always be High art and will survive for eternity.

Call me a purist… but I prefer to call myself a realist.

That’s all for now…

Happy Hunting,

"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me."

The Wiki Vampire

Michael Winslow - The Man of 10,000 Sound Effects (Colloquially known as the sound guy from Police Academy)

My fellow creatures of the night!

I know I promised to write about illuminating subjects that would make us think and reflect about our lives, the world, and cultural and politically relevant situations. But today I ran across something on the internet that overwhelmed and impressed me so much I decided to write a blog about it.

I don't know if any of you have ever seen any of the films in the Police Academy franchise, especially the first one. If you haven't try renting or buying one as soon as you can just to catch a glimpse of the subject of this blog.

The film, titled Police Academy is, to be frank with you, not even worth talking about. It's a steadfast, typical 1980's comedy with decent humor, but what makes the film valuable (aside from the fact it made 146 million at the box office) is a single character by the name of Larvell Jones, a funny, shy, yet remarkable cadet with a VERY UNIQUE TALENT. He can imitate ANY (and I mean any) noise he wants to. And I’m not talking about emulating voices or barking like a dog, I mean really copying noises and sounds of everything to such a degree that there is absolutely no difference with the original sound. He can practically do every sound in existence, and uses them in creative, funny ways throughout the course of the movie. He replicates farts, videogames, shaving machines, machine guns and even ROBOTS. Nothing escapes the throat and larynx of this very innovating, original character who is not only the comic relief of the picture but also the single, most important trait people remember this feature for.

Several questions rose upon me as I saw an analyzed the film. Where the noises real? Was the actor performing the noises or where they all computer made? I was certain no one could have the talent to emit such sounds (if you don’t believe check out the feature) with such precision, and this was probably a stunt by the filmmakers. As it turned out I was wrong.

How they came up with a character like this is beyond me. I am a screenwriter myself and I can tell you that no one could come up with a character like this out of thin air. This creature had to be based on someone real, someone whom the screenwriter or director encountered or knew and decided to put him in the script. There is no other way.

And as it turned out, I was right!

Police Academy was scheduled for Production in 1983 under a script Neal Israel. The film was going to be directed Hugh Wilson and produced by Paul Maslansky. It was going to be a comedy filled with funny events and funny storylines, but it lacked something… it lacked a comic essence that was eventually going render it 146 million dollars at the box office.

So on one fine California evening producer Maslansky and director Wilson decided to take some time off from the whole preproduction issue and decided to catch a stand up comedy performance at the long beach auditorium in Los Angeles… little did they know this show was going to change the way Police Academy was going to be developed.

As it turned out, the show’s opening performer was a man by the name of Michael Winslow, a man with a very unique talent. Throughout the show, Winslow demonstrated his abilities to imitate sounds and noises of real things in funny situations. He would fake a Tennis Match making the sound effects himself, pretend he would be at the supermarket and not only emulate the voices of the people in the market, but also of the cash register, the beeping machine and everything else in between. The show made such an impact on the filmmakers that they decided to hire him as an actor for their movie and write in a character like him (with the same abilities) into the script.

The result? Complete success. The character of Cadet Larvelle Jones (although not the main character) was responsible for much of the film’s comedy and, in a way, of much of the film’s early and perpetual success. Why? Undoubtedly because of the character’s original comedic skills and appearances throughout… especially the scene where he fakes being a terminator sort of robot or when he saves the entire platoon from an angry mob my simply emulating a machine gun through the speakerphone.

He is truly a remarkable character with an unprecedented past in the comedy genre. But what is even more remarkable is the fact that the character is actually acted by a man who can really emulate these sounds! Every noise he makes and fabricates is real!… the guns, the farts, the electric shavers, the helicopters… EVERYTHING!

And that my friends, is something everyone should see.

If you haven’t seen it check it out as soon as you can because what he does is nothing less than breathtaking.

I just don’t understand (no one does actually, no matter how many times he tries to explain it) how someone can manage to imitate so many noises of such variety at such an impressive exactness.

But what makes it even more remarkable is the way he implements the sounds. He doesn’t do it randomly (in the feature and in real life) but at moments when they can be used very effectively and with great comedic success and effect. He might start making a cash register noise when he walks into the bank, imitate a fart when someone is leaning down, pretend to be shaving himself with an electric machine while in the bathroom or play a fake videogame to make with roommate jealous… It is these situations combined with the preciseness of the noises, that makes his performance so funny and so brilliant.

As it turns out Michael Winslow is not only an imitator of noises, but a real performance artist who has made sounds ever since he emulated planes while stationed with his father at an air force base. He actually makes a living out of this! And he has become really good at it too. After Police Academy he worked in many other features, including the Gremlins Franchise, in which he voiced every gremlin, including the cute little fury one.

Michael Winslow is truly a man to admire. Not only does he hold an enormously unique talent I didn’t even know existed, but also works as a motivational speaker for people wishing to pursue their dreams and careers.

Hurray Mr. Winslow!

Please rent Police Academy or at least download the video from youtube.com to see what I’m talking about… that is all for now, I need to get back and proofread the 5th chapter of my novel, which hopefully will be out in the market soon.

I’ll see you in the future…

“I don’t want to be a product of my environment, I want my environment to be a product of me.”

Happy Hunting,

The WikiVampire

P.S.
I hope to have something more illuminating for the next blog…

A World of Blogs

Hi there Friends!

Having been one of the few fortunate souls in the world born with the spirit-thriving essence of being a writer by profession, conviction and soul, I have always been inclined to search the world for new forms of expressing my ideals, points of view and thoughts through the written world.

I have written in prose, poetry, play format, screenplay format, newspaper articles, short stories, radio drama plays and pretty much anything and any format any writer can get their hands on... everything except the Blog Format.

I was sitting at a Cafe the other day when I met a girl (whom I immediately knew was a writer) and asked her what her writing specialty was. To my surprise the answer was "I blog".

Blog was a term that, although I had heard a before, was not really familiar with what it was or how it worked. So after speaking with this girl for a couple of minutes about what a blog was all about and what they were used for, I decided I had to try them out myself and create a blog so I could express my ideals in Diary like format; writing about anything I wanted and actually have people read and comment on what I wrote.

It was like my own magazine. A place where I could practice writing, express myself eagerly and without censorship and get feedback from anyone that bumped into my blog.

So without further delay I created my own blog... which, if you are fortunate, is probably what you are reading right now... (that was meant to be a non-ofensive joke)... but in all seriousness, I inaugurate this first blog by saying that I am looking forward to this as much as I do to getting my books published and my scripts produced. I hope to learn a lot by this experience and I hope you can follow me on my journey through the lyirical world.

Look out for articles and blogs on everything... absolutely everything... From Apartheid to Peter Pan... from Quantum Mechanics to Canadian Sociology... Everything...

Now I leave you with this interesting fact.

The world has changed more in the last 10 years than it did in the previous 25... think about it. 10 years ago there was no "people´s internet", blogs as a phenomena didn´t exist and DVD´s were brand new... think about it. We are living in a world of change much like people in the early 1900´s were living in a world of change.

No one in the 1950´s would have envisioned a world that would be ruled by computers and not by flying cars... funny? Perhaps... but at least worth a thought.

I´ll see you in the future...

"I Don´t Wanna be a product of my environment... I want my environment, to be a product of me."

Happy Hunting

The Wiki Vampire

P.D. The Sky is truly the limit