Monstaville Book I. Chapter 9

9

"Difficulties show men what they are. In case of any difficulty remember that God has pitted you against a rough antagonist that you may be a conqueror, and this cannot be without toil."

- Epictetus.

“There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.” - Mahatma Gandhi.

“There would be nothing to frighten you if you refused to be afraid.” - Mahatma Gandhi.

The Terminator (directed by James Cameron, 1984)

Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn): Listen and understand. That Terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity. Or remorse. Or fear. And it absolutely will not stop ever, until you are dead.

Tombstone (directed by George P. Cosmatos, 1993).

“Arizona, 1879. Legendary Dodge City marshall Wyatt Earp, his wife Mattie and his brothers Virgil and Morgan just rode into Tombstone. These veteran frontiersmen hope to open a small business and settle into a quiet life. But they get more than they bargained for: Tombstone is a lawless municipality inhabited by a bunch of carousing locals. To make matters worse, the entire village is victimised by a gang of infamous outlaws. Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan may be the only formidable force around to confront them head-on.” (Editor’s note).

Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer): In vino veritas.

[‘In wine is truth’ meaning: ‘When I'm drinking, I speak my mind’]

Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn): Age quod agis.

[‘Do what you do’ meaning: ‘Do what you do best’]

Doc Holliday: Credat Judaeus apella, non ego.

[‘The Jew Apella may believe it, not I’ meaning: ‘I don't believe drinking is what I do best’]

Johnny Ringo: [Pats his gun] Eventus stultorum magister.

[‘Events are the teachers of fools’ meaning: ‘Fools have to learn by experience’]

Doc Holliday: [Gives a Cheshire cat smile] In pace requiescat.

[‘Rest in peace’ meaning: ‘It's your funeral!’]

Tombstone Marshal Fred White (Harry Carey Jr): Come on boys. We don't want any trouble in here. Not in any language.

Doc Holliday: Evidently Mr. Ringo's an educated man. Now I really hate him.

Johnny Ringo: Don't any of ya have the guts to play for blood?

Doc Holliday: I'm your huckleberry.

Johnny Ringo: I want your blood. And I want your soul. And I want them both right now!

Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell): What makes a man like Ringo, Doc? What makes him do the things he does?

Doc Holliday: A man like Ringo has got a great big hole, right in the middle of him. He can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it.

Wyatt Earp: What does he want?

Doc Holliday: Revenge.

Wyatt Earp: For what?

Doc Holliday: Bein' born.

Johnny Ringo: My fight's not with you, Holliday.

Doc Holliday: I beg to differ, sir. We started a game we never got to finish. "Play for Blood," remember?

Johnny Ringo: Oh that. I was just foolin' about.

Doc Holliday: I wasn't.

Sherman McMasters (Michael Rooker): [About Wyatt] If they were my brothers, I'd want revenge, too.

Doc Holliday: Oh, make no mistake. It's not revenge he's after. It's a reckoning.

(Quotations found on www.moviesoundscentral.com).

The Wright Stuff (Channel 5).

So much of bullying is about lack of communication - on both sides. Get a trade off - a constructive dialogue.

Bullies - the herd turned into a lynch mob. People think it’s a game. A class of pupils ended up bullying one guy. The teacher told the class how the boy felt (scared, worried, very anxious, nervous, helpless, intimidated and depressed) and reduced some people to tears. His explanation turned the whole situation around.

Bullying is a learned behaviour (from childhood). You can change it. Stand up to a bully and they respect you (the black guy on the panel said this but no one else agreed). It makes you stronger as a person because you become stronger (so one ends up feeling grateful for the experience).

Basic safety rule: If you’re about to explode, just say ‘I’m going,’ or the other person should go. There is a choice. There is no reason why people have to stay in the same room. If someone loses their temper or vents their aggression on another, they have the choice of walking away. So does the other person. We repeat patterns. Relationships: we tend to find people who behave in a way we were treated as kids even though we didn’t like it. Be careful - if you bully someone they may find a manipulative way of paying you back later on.

“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.” – Arthur Conan Doyle.

“No, but you’ve got to stay in shape and shit cause you never can tell when in real life you will have to ‘RUN!’ That’s right, run god dammit. Run! Why get killed when you can ‘run’? That’s right, a lot of people get their ass whipping when yo could run. You be in the hospital - your ego will heal a lot faster than a broken jaw. Cause you’ll still be in the hospital going, ‘SHIT, I should’a run.’ Run! That’s right. If somebody pulled a knife on you and you can’t pull out nothing but a hand with some skin on it, your intelligence ought to tell you to ‘RUN!’ But people have been watching Kojak and shit too much. They think they have to be ‘Macho Man!’ ‘I’ll take that knife and shove it up your ass!’ ‘I’m ‘Macho Man.’‘ You go from ‘Macho Man’ to ‘dead person.’ Cause, see, in the movies, they always make being stabbed with a knife look like it’s cool, right, cause they have that music [imitates the music]. Cause, see in real life, you don’t hear no ‘na na na.’ All you feel is a knife in yo’ ass - so run! And teach your old lady how to run so you don’t have to go back after her ass!” - Richard Pryor (Richard Pryor Live in Concert, 1979).

PLAY: ‘Beat It’ by Michael Jackson (written and composed by Michael Jackson, from the album, Thriller, 1982). And read the lyrics. “Don’t be a macho man” (if you want to stay alive)! And don’t worry about being defeated or people thinking you’re scared because it doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right. Let go and rise above it all.

Retrospective inserts.

Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe): Spider-Man is all but invincible; but Parker, we can destroy him.

Geneticist Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe): I can't.

Green Goblin: Betrayal must not be countenanced. Parker must be educated.

Norman Osborn: What do I do?

Green Goblin: Instruct him in the matters of loss and pain. Make him suffer, make him wish he were dead.

Norman Osborn: Yes?

Green Goblin: And then grant his wish.

Norman Osborn: But how?

Green Goblin: The cunning warrior attacks neither body nor mind.

Norman Osborn: TELL ME HOW.

Green Goblin: The HEART, Osborn. First, we attack his heart.

[So he attacks Peter’s gran, putting her in hospital, and then tries to make Spider-man choose between saving his darling Mary Jane and a group of school children]

                - Spider-Man (directed by Sam Raimi, 2002).

“Your experiences in duality have repeatedly exposed the dark side of life, and have fulfilled their part in allowing you direct experience of them. Of necessity you have moved from the Light to the dark, and back again, but there is no need to permanently remain in the lower dimension. You have learnt all that is needed to equip yourselves to serve others, in a similar way as to how we have served you. You are not fallen souls inasmuch that you have transgressed against the Light, but you have allowed yourselves to be purposefully veiled from it. It has been an interesting experiment in which you willingly volunteered to experience separation from the Source. Having been cut off from your Higher Self for so long, it is only in comparatively recent times you have regained that connection.

                When you realise that each and every one of you has shared your experiences, it may dawn upon you why being judgemental about another soul’s actions is simply a reflection of yours. You have been a model of Light and a beast of Hell in your different expressions, yet you stand today on the threshold of a great and wonderful experience called Ascension. Do not even concern yourselves about the fate of others, and know that every single one will return to the Light. Once you have lifted your vibrations, it must be said that you become more sensitive to what happens around you and desire to leave the darkness behind. However, you are sufficiently advanced and understanding to realise that you can simply be an observer, sending out your Love and Light to those who toil amongst the lower energies. They need your help as much, indeed if not more than others as they know not their true selves and have yet to find the Light within.

                The end times create the opportunity for cleansing and clearing everything that no longer serves your highest ideals. Once you dedicate yourselves to the higher path, you will find that you can apply yourself to becoming peaceful and compassionate quite easily. Your mere desire to do so elevates your consciousness to the higher levels, and connects you ever closer to your Higher Self, your God Self. Listen and you will hear the voice that comes from within and it is full of wisdom and love for you. Your earthly personality may wish to ignore it, but you would be well advised to follow its promptings.

                ...Learn from whatever crosses your path, because it will undoubtedly have a special message for you. You may not always be the central player in life’s dramas, but in every scene all of you have something to learn from it.

                ...I am Atmos from Sirius, and we of the Galactic Federation see our opportunity to safely land on Earth not too far away. Changes will first take place that shall prepare you for such a wonderful event, and we excitedly look forward to it.”

                - Atmos on behalf of The Galactic Federation of Light (channelled through Mike Quinsey, 11 August 2008, www.gfbymikequinsey.blogspot.com).

"Our strength often increases in proportion to the obstacles imposed upon it." - Paul De Rapin (www.suffering.net/buildch.htm).

“Seven days without laughter makes one weak.” - Joel Goodman.