Should We Kill Them Now?

I’ve said already said that a coincidence never escapes me, which is very true. My ideal in this world is that I want to see it all and have an answer for everything. In order to do so, you must pay attention. Now no one is perfect and a lot of the times I tune out the boring shit. I can’t help it and I bore too easily, but part of the game is trying to convince people that you didn’t notice what just happened. What you just said to me appeared to fly by me, but no, it didn’t. It’s been recorded verbatim and with multiple angled shots in my memory. God forbid I never forget it. Going off of that, I come to my position on Déjà vu. If coincidences are to never escape, a déjà vu is something to reflect upon intimately. Coincidence would have it that I just borrowed the film Déjà Vu from our guest artist, Trevor Carlton. It was OK, but I’ll get to him in a bit.

A weird déjà vu happened the other night which I think has something to do with what I’ve been wondering about, and which will come into play as an omen very soon. When the ship leaves Key West it has a day at sea before we arrive in Grand Cayman. Now, the distance between the two islands is too long to make in one night, but too short to make in a full sea day, so the ship slows down to a speed that allows full enjoyment of the seas at a comfortable pace. Consequently, the crew deck is opened on this night for our drinking pleasure until two. The wind is minimal and weather permitting it’s a wonderful experience. The bow of “The Magic” becomes our party land. It was exceptionally beautiful this last Monday. Not a cloud in the sky, and a only a slight breeze with Cuba in the distance. The stars did an incredible job of making me happy and I even caught a handful of shooting stars to wish upon. I’ll tell you I wished for your that I could continue to become a better man in this world in order to make myself and those around me happy. What else could you want?

Later in the evening I was talking to Dan, my SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) partner. We were talking about the Disney characters and who we were friends with. I’m great friends with Minnie, Goofy, the Mad Hatter, Alice, Dale and JoJo (the worst Disney character ever). The weird part is you don’t have any fucking idea who they really are in the guest areas until you figure it out behind the scenes. I’m slapping high fives to Mickey, and I have no fucking idea who this person really is…awful. The only thing is they will not tell you that they play Minnie or Alice, but rather that they are “friends” with that character. I was about to ask Dan if he knew about this when I was overcome with a very strong sense of Déjà vu. I suddenly knew that I was going to ask him this question and then he would answer positively and then leave the conversation. So I followed my instinct, asked him if he knew the whole “friends” with the character thing, he did, and then excused him to have a drink. I stood, dumbfounded, staring after him. Weird. As he continued to walk away, suddenly out of the pitch black, a flock of white birds swooped low over the deck. I had not expected this. A girl yelled out to look at the birds. I smiled as I already had been, taking their sudden appearance as a good omen. Keep in mind that we are not allowed to have lights on the deck. The only light comes from a string of Christmas lights behind the bar. In order to see these birds as clearly as we did, they had to swoop down strikingly low to the ship, signaling an omen…

Of course this omen was a good one as I was later shown in a dream. But for now let me talk about our guest artists. We’ve had a couple, John Rowe, Toby Bluth, but by far the most fun has been Trevor Carlton. He’s a typical Californian who paints to rock music like Pink Floyd, and creates a work of art of Mickey Mouse driving a roadster in about 30 minutes. I sold one of his performance pieces for ten thousand dollars, the other sold in auction. He also likes to drink beers with me and hang out in the crew bar. We celebrated Obama’s victory together and then ordered some massive room service. It was a real party and great fun too, but it’s also exactly what I was looking for in terms of meeting new people. The artists only stay on for a week, and for that week I’m not only their good buddy but also their sales representative. It a business I feel proud to be in. So when I sell his paintings, I’m very happy and he’s happy with me and I get to let loose and party with some crazy people. I get to be interesting with interesting people who I would never be able to meet anywhere else, and could never have imagined in a million years. Our next artist is Rodel Gonzalez. Not only is he a fantastic painter, but he also used to headline the number one band in the Philippines. That sounds like something I’d like to know all about.

Now, my dream omen, the best thing that happened to me all week. One of my goals of this trip was to separate myself from my own reality in order to be inspired in unexpected ways, right? I want to create films, and I have many ideas for some, but I need something substantial that can be created with a very limited budget, but also make a good first impact. Something interesting enough to put me on the map and give me some industry clout. I dreamt the entire project yesterday and I am so excited to tell you about it. Although it sounds sick, please know I’m a very positive person and these ideas in no way reflect my ideals. Its what I must be true to though, in order to be a successful artist myself. Luckily, it will be an entirely new thrilling experience unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It’s called Should We Kill Them Now? It’s not as gruesome as you’d think, but rather extremely stressful to partake. Although enjoyable, it’s not supposed to be a pleasant experience, which only a few films can really pull off and still be entertaining. So this will be a challenge I look forward to tackling. It’s in the same vein as Psycho and Texas Chainsaw, but much less gruesome, much more intense, and different than anything you’ve ever seen. Almost surreal…as if in a dream…..?

When I dream these things its like I’m watching the film in a theatre. I see all the shots, cuts, and performances as if I were simply watching the movie there and then. I’m pretty sure I was one of he characters, but I can’t be entirely sure, but I’m not going to be bothered enough to say that I’m to proud to star in my own producitions. If the man with the idea knows how to express the performance better than just an actor, then why not?

The movie can only take place in the seventies and none of the characters have any saving grace about their personalities. There are only 8 speaking roles, and it all takes place in one evening. There is the main couple running from a crime. I’m not entirely sure what crime at this point, a robbery most likely with perhaps an unexpected manslaughter involved, but either way we join them immediately after this incident. They can’t risk a motel. It is late at night, so they stop at a dive bar to rest their nerves. They can’t afford to be on the road, and yet they don’t know anything about where they are in order to lie low. Luckily they meet a suspicious young woman who insists they some home with her for after hours. The coupe on the run think they’ve been hit with some much needed luck When they get back to her trashy pit of a house around 3am, there are torn carpets everywhere, unfinished rooms, and junk filling the spaces. They meet the young woman’s parents, and a sense of dread fills their interaction, as this older couple simultaneously chastises the daughter and tries to drunkenly entertain their unexpected guests (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?). This is where I became sure that I played the male counterpart of the couple on the run. The couple finagles a way to go to bed in an unoccupied room, and the woman immediately has a strange dream involving flipbook animation. She awakes in the pitch darkness to the sound of the suspicious young woman in the house screaming bloody murder. The couple cautiously ventures into the next room to find out what’s happening. There is a brief glimpse of a shadowy profile in the next hallway and the body of the murdered young woman is thrown into the light. Her parents are tied up and three grinning strangers appear (two men and a woman). They have joyously invaded the house and for reasons as yet undisclosed are set on enjoying their revenge on this household. The mother is killed and the main couple is tied up. They are forced to watch the subsequent death of the older gentleman, the father of the house. There is a cat and mouse struggle which ensues before the man, my character, is killed along with one of the invading men, leaving the original woman pitted against the invading couple. The tables turn as the original woman hunts escapes their restraints and viciously hunts down the remaining man in the story, killing him. An extended finale catfight ensues between the remaining two women. I don’t know who survives, but the main point of the film is this: none of these characters have any redeeming qualities. They all appear to be criminals dukeing it out against their own counterparts. When the tables turn the audience is neither relieved nor worried at the fate of the other victims, but rather constantly stressed to see who will indeed make it out of this alive, if anyone. The question is forced, do I want anyone at all to survive or Should We Kill Them Now and should the answer be yes? Then who are we to make judgments against these characters?

It needs some work, but the image of it all is ingrained in my mind. I can’t wait to tell you more about it and develop it some more with my collaborators! It will be the first of a series of films including How Deep is your Grave?, I Can’t Wait to Scare You Tonight, The Scream of a Thousand Voices and Oh God, Why is this Happening? Most of these will actually be pretty lighthearted/ I’m OK, don’t worry, but never the less I’m going to have to dedicate a couple of them to Dave Papke.

Some more quick notes:

There’s this guy on board the ship that looks exactly like a short version of Ryan Ricker from behind. Numerous times my heart has been crushed thinking I see Ryan from across the room only to realize, no, Ryan does not live aboard “The Magic” with me. If only he did.

I will never forget the moment Barrack Obama was announced our next president. I was sitting in the officer’s lounge with some guys. One from Australia, a lady from England, one from South Africa and a couple more from the States. We all started screaming and chanting Obama when he was declared President elect. Later, seeing Obama speak from my home city of Chicago brought tears of joy to my eyes. I am so proud to be an American, more than any other time in my life. About 6 months ago I got into a screaming match with my father, grand father, uncle and great uncle. They called me stupid and naïve when I told them I was voting for Hillary. I said that it shouldn’t matter to them because Barrack would undoubtedly be our next president. They got even angrier and called me crazy. I pointed at each one of them, looked them right in the eye, and told them they were foolish to think anyone other that Obama would be our next president, that they just watch and see, he will be the next president of the United States of America. I could see that they knew what I said was truth, but yet they still bet against me with their money. On my arrival home to the states I will be collecting more that just dollars from my family.

Until then…should we kill them now?