Monkey World by Ernie Cline

The Monkeys. There are billions of galaxies in the observable Universe. And each of them contain hundreds of billions of stars. In one of these galaxies, orbiting one of these stars, lies a little blue planet. And this planet is run by a bunch of monkeys. Now these monkeys don’t think of themselves as monkeys. They don’t even think of themselves as animals. In fact, they love to list all of the things they think separate them from the animals. Opposable thumbs - self awareness. They use words like homo-erectus and australopithecus - you say tomatoe, I say tomato. They’re animals alright - they’re monkeys. Monkeys with high speed digital fiberoptic technology, but monkeys nevertheless. I mean, they’re clever, you’ve got to give them that. The Pyramids, skyscrapers, phantom jets, The Great Wall of China - that’s all pretty impressive, for a bunch of monkeys. Monkeys whose brains have evolved to such an unmanageable size that its now pretty much impossible for them to stay happy for any length of time. In fact, they’re the only animals who think they’re supposed to be happy. All of the other animals can just be. But it’s not that simple for the monkeys. You see, the monkeys are cursed with consciousness - and so the monkeys are afraid - so the monkeys worry. The monkeys worry about everything, but mostly about what all the other monkeys think - because the monkeys desperately want to fit in with the rest of the monkeys, which is pretty hard to do because a lot of the monkeys hate each other. This is really what separates them from the other animals. These monkeys hate. They hate monkeys that are different, monkeys from different places, monkeys who are a different color. You see, the monkeys feel alone - all six billion of them. Some of the monkeys pay another monkey to listen to their problems. The monkeys want answers and the monkeys know they are going to die, so the monkeys make up gods and then they worship them. And then the monkeys start to argue over which made up god is better. And then the monkeys get really pissed off and this is usually when the monkeys decide that it’s a good time to start killing each other. So the monkeys wage war. The monkeys make hydrogen bombs. The monkeys have got their entire planet wired up to explode. The monkeys just can’t help it. Some of the monkeys play to a sold out crowd of other monkeys. The monkeys make trophies and then they give them to each other, like it means something. Some of the monkeys think they’ve got it all figured out. Some of the monkeys read Nietzsche. The monkeys argue about Nietzsche, without ever giving any consideration to the fact that Nietzsche was just another monkey. The monkeys make plans. The monkeys fall in love. The monkeys have sex and then they make more monkeys. The monkeys make music, and then the monkeys dance. Dance monkeys, dance. The monkeys make a hell of a lot of noise. The monkeys have so much potential, if they would only apply themselves. The monkeys shave the hair off of their bodies in blatant denial of their true monkey nature The monkeys build giant monkey hives that they call cities. The monkeys draw a lot of imaginary lines in the dirt. The monkeys are running out of oil which is what fuels their precarious civilization. The monkeys are polluting and raping their planet like there is no tomorrow. The monkeys like to pretend that everything is just fine. Some of the monkeys actually believe that the entire Universe was created for their benefit. As you can see, these are some messed up monkeys. These monkeys are at once the ugliest and most beautiful creatures on the planet. And the monkeys don’t want to be monkeys. They want to be something else. But they’re not.............
Posted without permission..Transcribed from the Internet video by Ernie Cline found at:
http://www.dotsub.com/films/dancemonkeys/index.php?autostart=true&language_setting=en_404

There’s more to the Monkey World story, of course. Ernie Cline just touched on the basics. The monkeys are, indeed, both the brightest and the dumbest of living things. Some of the brightest monkeys have built a space station that orbits their planet, where some monkeys live. Some of the dumbest monkeys broadcast their ignorance over airwaves for others to hear, perpetuating their ignorance. There are, indeed, monkeys that fit every description, from one extreme to the other. But the biggest problem the monkeys have is not admitting that they are monkeys. When the day comes that the monkey called man can first acknowledge and then accept his animalness, that will be the day that everything will change. Let us hope that days comes soon before the monkeys pass the point of no return and destroy themselves.

The Dash by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates from the beginning, to the end. He noted that first came the date of her birth, and spoke of the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most was the dash between the years. For the dash represents all the time that she spent alive on Earth, and now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth. For it matters not, how much we own, the cars...the house...the cash... What matters is how we live and love, and how we spend our dash. So think about this long and hard; are there things you’d like to change? For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged. If we could just slow down enough to consider what’s true and real... And always try to understand the way that other people feel. And be less quick to anger and show appreciation more and love the people in our lives...like we’ve never loved before.. If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile... Remembering that this special dash will only last a while. So when your eulogy is being read, with your life’s actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say - about how you spent your dash?

Transcribed from an Internet video, edited and posted here without permission..