Edward Snowden’s ‘Permanent Record’

I finally finished #EdwardSnowden 's book Permanent Record. It's probably the fastest book I've read of it's size and depth, several hours over about a week, but I have to say I'm floored by the brilliance of the craft, and the heroic persistence to get this information to the people.

Even in writing this I know it's being monitored, maybe even silenced or put into a corner of a watchlist on some algorithmic board of other awakened individuals. But for anyone who knows me, I value my privacy and delve deep into aspects of secrets, Hermetics, cryptic and conspiratorial depths of analysis written for the alternative to mainstream consciousness. So it's by no by far from me to read Snowden's book when I found it in the library. It provides more details that were originally shown to me by the documentary Citizenfour and Oliver Stone's Snowden, both of which I highly recommend, as well as many interviews I've seen of him, but to read his personal story and account of his journey was something that fascinated me to my core.

Ultimately the premise that underlies my own values, to which I hope most people see as one of truth to one's personal rights of privacy and freedom, to live their lives to their best interests, rather than exposed to altered or skewed perceptions of the public. We can never truly know the depths of someone unless we communicate with them on intimate deeper levels.

A whistle-blower for human rights and freedoms is judged by the American Government as a traitor, a criminal, and demands to be extradited for trial, while the same state fully acknowledges and has betrayed their people's rights for decades, engineering a system of deceit and criminal activity far more subversive and dangerous than we can imagine. Who is the true culprit of these crimes against humanity?

I digress, and open this conversation up to the reader and those who seek the truth. Research, and be informed, not by what is told to us by a mainstream media conglomerate, but your own intelligence, your consciousness is at war and you deserve the freedom of it's existence. Only when we come together do we unify our understanding of how to live harmoniously, free of perversion or scrutiny, in my hopes, oneness, compassion and care. For we need it now more than ever.

Much love and light,

J

#FreeSnowden #FreedomofSpeech #Oneness #Unity #Compassion

Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town

Hola me compadres!

So I got into a vibe tonight, watching Eddie Vedder on Howard Stern, and he played one of my favourite songs, Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town!

So after my interview binge I picked up my guitar after a long while and played my fav track, as the rain poured down here in Vancouver, 4 am trying not to wake anyone up in my house. But I felt alive again, felt my soul in singing once more.

Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam have gotten me through some tough times and I wish to meet them someday, so here's a start. My cover of the song that took my breath away, as more have through listening to this band. I'll see ya soon Eddie, thanks for the love and support!

Enjoy,

J

Monologue Slam Submission

Hello all!

Thought I’d share my submission to the Monologue Slam Online competition for this month.

I chose a short little piece from Garth Davis’ Mary Magdalene, which I had just recently watched and adored. I had been meaning to see this film since it was first talked about that Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix would be doing a film about Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Unfortunately it was derailed from a release date back when the Weinstein news broke out, and was in a bit of a limbo before being shared with the world, but by then the marketing seemed to have lessened, and reviews weren’t as favourable to give it a wider release in theatres, so it flew by the radar of most people. It’s currently on Amazon Prime for anyone that is interested in seeing it. It was a beautifully shot and well acted film. I was drawn to the cinematography and soft, gentle, artistic pacing of the film, which was a great shift from Gibson’s Passion of the Christ’s brutality.

The scene I chose was when Jesus and his disciples talk to a group of women about asking God forgiveness for one’s sins. One of the women tells the story of one of their own who was brutally raped and drowned by her husband when found with another man. She questions God in this moment, in how one of the men sought forgiveness at the time of his trial. Jesus gives with deep humility and compassion that hate can be a powerful emotion, but forgiveness is a virtue that allows you into the Kingdom of God. It is a very touching performance by Joaquin, and he does very strong work in the few scenes that he is in the film. But it is truly Rooney Mara that commands the presence within her perspective of the story. I highly recommend everyone to see it, even if they are not religious, or grew up Catholic, there is rich sentiments, and spirituality in Jesus’ teachings. I feel the manipulation is found in how Religion and the Church can shift these teachings into fear mongering and absolutes, rather than allowing them to be heard and interpreted in its true essence and form. We are to make the decisions of our own lives, but ultimately to take steps and actions towards a virtuous life is always one of a positive encouragement.

Especially with all of the violence, war and hate in this world, it is often hard to even think about forgiveness, to allow our hearts to feel the opposing side of view, knowing that we are all humans, we are all one another, brothers and sisters. This is my hope in humanity, that we find the healing hearts to love one another despite our differences, until then we cannot come close to this Kingdom, for it is within us. We will build it, with our thoughts, our actions and our prayers.

Be good to one another,

Peace and Love,

J

Joel Chico Show and Actors Pilot Updates!

Hello Friends!

So I have been finally getting on board with my talk show, and utilizing the power of Zoom Video Communications! It started with a talk with my good friends Matthew Pellow and Chai Valladeres, two actors I met in drama school. We connected to discuss my own form of the show, talking to actors, envisioning a creative show where we work on scene studies and give an outlook of how an actor prepares. I believe I will work on two streams, an actor show, as well as a straight podcast/talk show with the various wonderful people I meet in my life!

So far I’ve had some great talks with wonderful guests that I am looking forward to sharing with you all!
In the meantime check out the Actors Pilot with Matt and Chai!

Will be posting the videos on Youtube and my website, hoping to get the audio of the podcast on Spotify and iTunes as well! So stay tuned!

Much love,

J

Thanks for all the love on The Twilight Zone!

I just wanted to put out a big thank you to everyone that watched my episode of The Twilight Zone!

It’s currently streaming on CBS All Access, I’m on episode 3, “The Who of You,” which stars other great actors Ethan Embry, Billy Porter and Mel Rodriguez, directed by the wonderful Peter Atencio, produced by Jordan Peele.

It was such a joyous experience to work on my first television show here in Vancouver. It’s been a dream and cannot wait to do more wonderful work in this city. I know times are tough and it’s been a crazy world, but there is lots to be hopeful about. Lots of magic in the air as the world gets its shit together and cleans up. Be nice to one another, stay healthy and happy, be clean, wash your hands and wear a mask in public! It’s important to note that we’re all in this together and we should be acting in unity and community.

Much love,

JMC

PS. You can watch the clip from my episode on my Instagram @joelchicoshow or check out the link below!

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CB51lNOgVuE/

View this post on Instagram

Here's the clip from my episode of @thetwilightzone ! Season 2 Episode 3 - The Who of You! Directed by @atencio I am over the moon with excitement to share this with the world. This is by far the most fun I've had in a role, and my first principal role acting in Vancouver. I got to work with the incredible @realmelrodriguez who made me laugh to pieces in @officiallastman and now freaked me out every take we did of this scene. It was such an honor to work opposite of him even for these few moments. The use of this really tiny camera to shoot these eyeball explosions blew my mind and now I can say I've had my Requiem for a Dream moment! It was dope to see my buddy @labanpitmanjohnson at the cafe acting his way on set too! @paolomaiolo and I did take after take of running down Carrall St. in Gastown! It was the first time I'd ever have to do a scene where there was a crowd of people (probably tourists) watching and filming as I prepped to turn a corner and run with this foot brace 😂 Thanks to the amazing @directorlashlauro for being my first stunt guy ever and taking this hit from @robvhayley ! A drunk Irish guy watching literally ran out during a take and asked if he was alright cause he saw him get tackled hahaha, and it blew his mind that we were filming a TV show! And shout outs to @jayhindle to take the money and run, your reaction at the end is priceless!! Thanks so much to @jordanpeele and @cbsallaccess for producing such a cool episode and hope to work with ya again in the future! My favourite moment on set was thanking Peter Atencio at the end of the first day and saying, "hey I have message for Jordan Peele," I look around to see if anyone was looking and say, "I saiiiiid biiiiiiitch!" as Peter chuckled his ass off accepting the homage. Enjoy the Twilight Zone my friends you're stepping into a trip, I know I did! . . . . . #TwilightZone #PeterAtencio #JordanPeele #MelRodriguez #JoelChico #CBS #Film #Television #Acting #Actor #Writer #Director #Star #Famous #Celebrity #Action #Stunts #Hollywood #HollywoodNorth #Vancouver #Canada #Filipino #FilipinoActor #Ethnicity #AsianActor #Phillipines #Toronto #Camera #Video #IGTV

A post shared by Joel Chico (@joelchicoshow) on Jun 26, 2020 at 8:43am PDT

"Joseph" now on all Streaming Platforms - Spotify, iTunes and Apple Music!

As we enter the New Moon in Gemini I thought I'd share a song near and dear to my heart. I wrote this song at a difficult time in my life and used the words and music to elevate my vibration to something more than I thought I was, this is a song of hope and rebirth. It was to be the first single of a new album that is far from complete, but still stands as the foundation of a story of Cosmic Star Child, a journey beyond space and time. As I approach my thirtieth birthday I decided to use this photo for the song, a look into the eyes of creativity and wonder, the youth of who I was and still am. For the first time ever my single Joseph is available on all three main streaming services! It has been available on my Bandcamp since its initial release, but I felt it time to share on a global scale for how ever you like to listen to your music. I find music to be the thing to connect us, to unite us. It is time now more than ever to come together, our love is strong and it won't take long til we can take away the pain. Enjoy my friends and family!

Peace, Love, and Music,
J

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/album/3Ua5l23hZzTl941LAyT233…
ITunes:

https://music.apple.com/us/album/joseph-single/1514546623…

Apple Music:
https://music.apple.com/us/album/joseph-single/1514546623…

The Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Roadshow

*Alanis Morissette is actually playing on the radio as I started write this…*

Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes have been making movies since I was a kid, I first watched Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back on my little TV in my room, surfing through channels, and after landing on these two comical characters I was entranced, wanting to know everything I could about who these two were and where they came from.

It all began with Kevin Smith making Clerks in 1994, I was four, but by the time I was thirteen, when I was old enough to discover this black and white nineties cult classic, it changed my entire life. I thought about how if this guy can make a film about guys hanging out at a convenience store talking about movies, I can make a movie about anything. I followed Jay and Silent Bob through Mallrats, Chasing Amy and Dogma until coming full circle to fully understand the stories these two New Jersey locals had up until I first saw them in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. I was hooked not only because of the outrageous and hilarious weed smoking adventures the two had, but by also watching and listening to stories Kevin would tell in his 'An Evening with Kevin Smith,' followed by 'Evening Harder' DVDs and 'Jay and Silent Bob Get Old' podcasts. He preached his journey as a filmmaker and how he made it from being a kid who loved Star Wars, to a guy who grew up making movies with his friends, and how anyone could. Kevin Smith inspired me to be a writer/director, and I told him this personally when I finally met him in 2011 during a premiere of Red State in Toronto after a Q & A in typical 'An Evening with Kevin Smith's fashion. Then reiterated the story last night at the first Vancouver screening of the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Roadshow.

I wish there was enough time to break down my entire feels of what this movie meant to me, sentiments probably shared by a sold out theatre of ViewAskew Universe fans, many wearing Smodcast jerseys and Silent Bob trenchcoats and backwards hats, true followers of the films that culminated to this beautiful reunion of characters in what first seemed like a remake of the same Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back film, but eventually rebooted ("changing things small enough that you'd pay to see it again, with added youth and diversity"), into a film about Jay reuniting with the daughter he never knew he had.
Kevin had said as he introduced the film, how there are a few moments where Jason Mewes brings some of his best performances, even a few emotional beats, and boy he wasn't kidding, I got hit in the heartstrings by the scenes with both Harley Quinn Smith and Jason Mewes, bringing a dynamic depth you would never guess in a Jay and Silent Bob film.

For as much silliness and stoner comedy Kevin Smith has brought through these characters over the years, there was always a deep story of friendship between these unlikely heroes, but Reboot adds another element of maturity to their arcs, the two are fathers now themselves, and it really shows in their performances, especially for Jay, bringing his once duncelike idiotism and naivety to that of taking ownership for being a father who was never there, making up for lost time and instilling what he can about the life he'd live.

Kevin writes some of his best work and brings along some of his best friends to play in the sandbox to deliver sweet justice and powerful moving performances that elevate his script into the beauty of the whole. His film contains beloved characters from the ViewAskew universe as well as cameos from comedic actors at the top of their game. It was a joy to see familiar faces pop up and the applause and cheers that rang out through the sold out audience of fans. Kevin was right, it does become a wild party during the Roadshow screenings, akin to a Rocky Horror Picture kind of evening. But the one great scene and performance that luckily made it into the flick was by Ben Affleck himself. The scene showed guidance to Jay's recent fatherly inheritance, without spoiling anything, it was truly touching and became the glue that held the film together, in the same way that Silent Bob's speech did for Chasing Amy. It was beautiful to see Ben on screen with Jay and Kevin again. Kevin told the story of how after hearing an interviewer ask if he was going to be in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, Ben responded by saying he wasn't asked and isn't busy. Which Kevin took as a sign to reach out and invite him to come play. The scene was wonderful and Kevin even threw in a few Batman jokes for Ben to use as well, which made the whole wink to the audience in on the joke aspect all the more fun.

The roadshow screening was an experience in itself, and the film captures the fun of his original films while poking fun at the current state of Hollywood and the remake/reboot industry diminishing cinema. But with characters this good, why not share more stories if there's an audience to laugh and listen? There's no short display of love and affection Kevin's fans have for his work, and after his announcement of Clerks 3 and Mallrats 2, it was like a new Phase of ViewAskew's Cinematic Universe we're all more than excited to experience. Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes are destined to keep the journey alive and well, and it's taken a few years but I'm glad Jay and Silent Bob are back and still kicking!

Snootchie Bootchiessss!

The Jay and Silent Bob Roadshow Reboot continues it's tour, visit rebootroadshow.com for more info!