"The genius of the Elizabethan poets." 4. Roman Mythology. A tutelary 
(End of Albos section.)
(Laughs.) Why is he sayin' that?
20:1-5). 3. A hoped-for period of joy, serenity, prosperity, and justice.
a lot of harm reduction. Sorry, we had such a, a little bit of negative 
a--in fact you could almost say it was going to be a genius that was going to 
abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he 
acupuncture, teacher of (inaudible) t'ai chi; retired chef for the New York 
Albos: Golden good fortune.
all of these festivities we're observing, be they Muslim or Christian or 
almost anything, have to do with that rebirth. So you have mythology of 
and my job, my work, is to teach biochemistry at the University of Minnesota, 
Andwele: I don't think the world is headed to a very positive place. And I think that the new millennium represents, unfortunately, chaos and mayhem. And I want to be able to spend time with my family and friends before that goes down; and I'm actually really afraid to have children, and to branch out, because I don't want them to suffer through chaos and mayhem. I think that ah--
Andwele: You do? No, I don't think, I don't think preventing the chaos is possible. No, I don't think, because you can't, you can't reach out to every person, and it's the people you can't reach out to that are gonna create the chaos and incite controversy 'cause that's what they do best. That's what they do best. What do you think Stalin?
are going to finally get longer again. So it's a period of optimism. Hence 
are only--you have to have a rational explanation for that, are they the 
around to like the biggest religion in the world. Right? And what they said 
as I understand it, this fellow Christ, ah,was a genius of sorts, in the 
aspects with my own Project Tumbleweed. Create a museum of me. I'll fuckin' 
attention that it's getting; it's a little scary sometimes....I mean, you 
background sing "Angels We Have Heard on High." Ted grins.)
Bar guest: Money's god. "Well I ain't ever seen it yet--"
battle in the discussion of media control--
be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
before, and play it, because it makes sense to them, that doesn't make them a 
before." B. One who possesses such power. 2. A. A natural talent or 
being out in nature, quietly (Max closes door) and I see we had to close the 
being silly, you know, like, he's trying to get attention; he says he's the 
Bill Herman: Okay.
Bill: It's okay Max, I'll beat her tonight.
Bill: No I don't remember.
Bill: Okay.
Bill: Okay.
Bill: Okay.
Bill: Okay.
Bill: Okay.
Bill: Okay.
Bill: Yeah?
Biological Science.
both; they wanted to like openly refuse to do the Roman rituals. You know, 
Bryan: I'm out of tune. (Cut ahead to music.)
bullshittin' ya. (Laughs.) Oh John made a mistake.
by Johnny Love's, formerly. Um, I don't know what else I can tell you; I do 
can you give me, can you give me a logical, rational explanation for that? 
Can you talk about that? Can you read that?
Cannabis Helping Alleviate Medical Problems. I'm also a student doctor of 
Carah Balkman: No.
Carah: Do you wanna answer 'em? Have you answered 'em?
Carah: Go back Rosie.
Carah: Huh?
Carah: I can't remember, I just read 'em once.
Carah: Mmm hmm.
Carah: No, I have to think about 'em for awhile. 
Carah: Somebody else saw something about genius--
Carah: Someone else was saying they saw something like that--
Carah: Someone else was saying they saw something like that.
Carah: Well it is, it's your idea.
Carah: Yeah.
Carah: Yeah.
Carter Herman: Good girl. You want to answer the questions on that sheet?
Carter: I've been up for a long time. I'm thinking about my job tomorrow. And that I don't want to lose my job. And ah, contemplating like radical changes in how you think and live, people associate that--'cause I'm, you know, I mean, I'm like a pretty average person, so maybe I can speak for average people--that thought makes me tired. And yet it's a really important thought to have, you know. So maybe that's the idea, is to like get people to recognize that contemplating like a change in how you think about stuff is supposed to be--it isn't about like writing a bunch of letters to Greenpeace magazine, or signing several petitions, or going door to door--it's not supposed to be more work. It's supposed to be less work. It's supposed to realign things that are ah, so that they're ah, more naturally in tune with how your brain works, so it's easier to think about stuff. 
Carter: Is that ah, case in point, me right now, I am tired.
Carter: Nah. I haven't yet. (Takes Contribution One from car.) "What does 
Carter: What are they again anyway?
Carter: You don't feel like it?
Carter: You know what I think is the hard part about this Project? This Genius 2000 Project?
Carter: You wanna hold that? (Gives Carah the camera.)
century;" number six, extraordinary power of invention or origination of any 
certainly true in other cases. I mean you can't really even argue with it.
character, behavior, or the like, as is "his evil genius." Four: The mental 
Charlotte Herman: Oh my goodness, is that Mike's--
Charlotte: --As they develop those skills, they tend to lose some of their autistic savant skills. 
Charlotte: --At the age of five, or, um--
Charlotte: --Oh, they interviewed this ah, this young man who, I guess he finished high school by the age of five, but his dad wouldn't let him go to college until he was nine (laughs), 'cause he thought he was too little. And now he's ah, I think he's doing a Ph.D. program, um, in research on Parkinson's disease because he read about it when he was nine and he thought it was such a sad and horrible disease he really wanted to work on it. And ah, they interviewed his major professor, who, who said, you know, obviously if this nine-year-old was gonna work with me I wanted to see what was up. So he showed him this ah, diagram of how neurons interact in the brain, and all the rest of the body, and um, all their different functions for input and output and communication in the neurons, and he said basically it took most advanced medical students two weeks to kind of master this diagram--
Charlotte: --the concept of genius. Mmm hmm.
Charlotte: And that--we hope.
Charlotte: And then they said ah, who was it, E.B. White said "often genius is stored in a cracked pot."
Charlotte: Because often geniuses, you know, are a little bit odd by ordinary terms.
Charlotte: But it talked about the different areas of genius, as defined sort of academically, (inaudible)-- 
Charlotte: Hmm mm.
Charlotte: I encouraged you to think straight.
Charlotte: I'm too busy filtering out smoke to--
Charlotte: In a cracked pot.
Charlotte: It was on channel two.
Charlotte: It was so interesting. Yeah.
Charlotte: No, I'm saying, I think this is a self-serving operation.
Charlotte: No.
Charlotte: No. (Laughs.)
Charlotte: No. It was about--
Charlotte: Oh, you know when you were out the other night there was a program on genius on channel two?
Charlotte: So, they, they divided it into cat--in eleven categories, and there was, oh, mathematical, linguistic, musical, athletic, um, sort of inspiring the masses as a form of genius--
Charlotte: Thank you dear.
Charlotte: This kid looked at it and he said there's something missing, and the professor looked at it and the kid said, there's something missing right here. And the professor said, he was absolutely right, and that's when he knew he really was a genius.
Charlotte: Um, but they also--
Charlotte: Well, that's the point. And they said that most often, genius is defined historically, so that many geniuses in their lifetimes aren't recognized, like Van Gogh for instance.
Charlotte: Well--
Charlotte: Well--
Charlotte: What kind of a comment was that?
Charlotte: Yeah.
Charlotte: Yeah. Well, they're just not as facile with them. You know, their calculations might be slower.
Charlotte: You were talking to Bill. 
Charlotte: You'll be sued.
Charlotte: You're wasting your film.
Charlotte: You're wasting your film.
Charlotte: You've got to show us how to tape, Max.
Chosen People, or what--
Christ," and it was about, like, how Christianity went from this dude walkin' 
Christianity and this, it's not based on rational method, it's based on 
Christianity is media, but are you talking about contemporary Christianity 
Christianity, the reason I say it's a battle, um--(door closes, quiet again) 
Christianity. It's about martyrdom, and it's about, (noise as door opens) 
City streets at night.
Coming is god's final messenger. God is the ineffable union of history and 
considering on the Nobel Prize, they are twenty-five percent. How could you, 
contemporary?
control. Crucifixion is an act of protest demanding access. The Second 
crazy, I'm not just trying to get a little attention, you know, be weird; you 
creative power: "True genius rearranges old material in a way never seen 
Credits: Genius 2000 is: 7-11 Tolkien, Alan Hooper, Andwele, Andy Larsen, Bill Herman, Bryan Qualy, Carah Balkman, Carter Lebares, Charlotte Herman, David Shlagel, Eli Anthony, Endup 1, Endup 2, Endup 3, Exekiel Bakal, Fish Man, Ivan, Jeff Jenkins and Friend, John, John Keller, John Olson, Justin Pickens, Leo, Matias, Max Herman, Michael Warton, Mike Mikkelsen, Mouse, Pat Mountain, Ralph, Rebel Owens, Richard Ferguson, Richard Rose, Rick Tolden, Ryan Johnson, Stalin, Ted Sawyer, Third World 1, Third World 2, Third World 3, Tim Sawyer Jr., Tim Sawyer Sr., and many more. The Project would like to thank: The Walker Art Center Shock of the View, and the Bay Area Video Coalition. For information about the Project, and to purchase this video online, go to www.geocities.com/~genius-2000.
crushed vitamins....
David Shlagel: Well that was pretty damn close. Another hour I'd say he might have it. (Cut to very tall bike.)
defeat me and I'm gonna go to heaven." So she'd go around and scream and 
deity or guardian spirit allotted to a person from birth.
doin' all this shit, and, ah, the Romans said it's like, "as long as you do 
dominant peculiar to an individual bent. Number five: Peculiar nature, 
door in order to get it quiet in here. Yeah, that's better. Now Max asked 
Eastern Mediterranean. So I guess that's what we're looking for again.
Edinburgh." That's it.
Eli Anthony: What's up Max. (Shot of sample portraits.)
Eli: Ah, no. I'll show you what I did.
Eli: Deep?
Eli: Dog.
Eli: Pretty damn glorious in here sometimes. Feel pretty good sometimes. I back up a little bit (leans back and makes sketching motions). See the problem is, when I really start to nod, when I'm tired or not into my art I start to go fuckin' into the paper, and my perspective just goes out (leans forward). I'm like working; it gets all scratchy and shit. (Cut ahead). Welcome to the Mall of America.
Eli: That's not bad.
Eli: The dog's pretty cool.
Eli: Welcome to the Mall of America. Welcome to the end of civilization.
Eli: Well you can look at some of the samples there, of the art.
Eli: Yeah I'm--this is ah, that one's mine too.
Eli: Yeah.
Eli: Yeah.
Eli: Yeah.
End of Ate Section.
End of Hybris Section
End of Koros Section
energy tonight. I also used to be the leading trainer of horses at New York 
especially a spirit, as of a nation, as "the genius of the eighteenth 
estrangement from his true being. It forgets its own emergency character." 
evil man. And he controls 'em. 
exciting thing, right? The inspiration or whatever. But in my experience, 
fall in love with her. Right? So it's an attack on this, this kind of 
First guest: What's up Max. (Staring into camera.)
Friend: Dude, you can not be filming us right now. I'm not into being filmed right now--(Max hands Genius 2000 cards to Woman.)
Friend: Now there's a videocamera--
Friend: Please, dahling--
Friend: Right. (They kiss and give the camera the finger.) No pictures!
Friend: Supply and demand of genius.
fuckin' kill you, right? So, what happened was, is the Christian people 
gather where I have not strawed; thou oughtest therefore to have put my money 
genie. Number three: By extension, a person who influences another in 
genius, does it?
geniuses are necessarily doing anything to exceed their own capacity. Which 
geniuses. So in terms of the millennium, and it is interesting to see the 
give a question--
God, the sword of the galaxy. I'm like Luke Skywalker. This is my 
God. Jesus said, "I bring not peace, but a sword." This is the sword of 
Governor-Elect Ventura" on screen.
Guest: All right then.
Guest: And Nike is like the pinnacle--
Guest: Hmm mm.
Guest: It's the crown shakra--
Guest: Maple Grove--
Guest: Yeah--
happened was, is these people would become celebrities, you know? They would 
hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall 
have it? What does the year 2000 mean? Does it mean this to you, or other 
He was a showman. But just say that you'll do it. And this--
he's talking about art, and he, and he just says, "It does however share some 
here we are--
Hooper: --be spontaneous aspects, and, um, imperfections. You, you, don't expect everything to be in its place--(cut ahead)--Look, is this right? Does this really feel right, what I'm doing, and therefore what we are doing? And then take a little extra step. After all--(Max laughing)--the year 2000 only comes around every 2000 years. Here's your chance folks--
Hooper: But the other, the most, the beautiful aspect of genius is, the better use of the phrase, the word, is the realization that human beings, in general, have a genius. All of us have elements of genius. Special abilities, special ways of putting ideas together, special ways of expressing beauty in music, special ways of expressing love in a sort of communal sense sometimes. That's the, that's also a genius, and it's the one that in a society, in an economy and a social system which tends to be sort of built like a pyramid, with some folks up at the top and other people down at this bottom of this pyramid, who tend to be regarded as less geniatric--no, not less genial, geniatrical or something--
Hooper: Do something, a little out of the ordinary. 
Hooper: No, Hi-8 is just a--is this a Hi-8?
Hooper: Now this--the problem I have with genius is as it is sometimes applied to an individual; that is, this guy is a genius, therefore--this person is a genius, he or she knows, is wiser than anyone else, and therefore everyone else is certainly less wise and probably dumb. And therefore we should listen more to the "the geniuses." Um, first thing to think about is that ah, the people who are anointed as a genius, um, that's a, that's a selection. They have to fit a certain mold, and it's usually the mold established by the major culture, or economy. So it's the major political unit; it's, in our days, it's the people that control publishing; ah, so it's the economy. It's the, it's the majority-styled economy that's going to say "we anoint these people geniuses, and one of the things about them, by the way, is, is that they are tending to talk about the things, from a perspective we agree with. Those other people, who are pretty smart, but they're, they are way off the wall. Those aren't really geniuses, you see." You're the anointed geniuses; now this includes university professors of course.
Hooper: Now, the other thing that has, the other major, ah, human--the other major event that is related to human beings is the awareness; the other major development that's related to human beings is the awareness that our activities have, that we now know, can im--can impact the earth at levels that have the potential of catastrophe that compete with, ah, the comet striking the earth and raising a cloud of dust and eliminating dinosaurs and their friends from the face of the earth. Now in the past it's been easy to say, "Well we're just little, we can't do all that much," but things like the greenhouse effect are real, and we now know it. So there's also a greater incentive for some, finding a way to make decisions in a way communally, or centrally, 'cause the market economy doesn't do it. You know, you're not going to be able to con--convince people simply to do all the things necessary to diminish the greenhouse effect or some analogous phenomenon in the future. You have to, people have to be thinking about these things in advance, and then deciding in advance whether you want it. If you want it, fine; but that's it.
Hooper: So when I, so what the downside, earlier on I was saying that I thought there was a downside to the second coming mythology, and that is that, that what they are looking for is one of these individual geniuses to tell them what to do. Therefore, it tends to, ah, inhibit what we really need which is more people realizing their own genius and thinking independently and critically and able to see where we are and ah, decide what we ought to do about it as a collective group. Not that there aren't going to be some people with more energy, who like to talk more; who really want to be at the forefront; that's fine. 
Hooper: Sure. Yeah. And part of that is just despair. Um, so what you find the media doing is, is two things. It simultaneously, through, through ah, dramatics, reinforcing a mythology that says some people are inherently capable of being only, of being at the top to this pyramid, and some people are inherently capable of being at the bottom. We are sorry about the latter, but there's nothing that can be done about it. So the other job the media has, in addition to saying that, is to try to make it easier for them by providing entertainment. I guess that's a very simple way of expressing it.
Hooper: That's im--oh, that could take hours. Ah, my name is Alan Hooper, 
Hooper: The greatest tragedy of the social transformations of the past hundred or so years, has come out of, and a lot of it is, you know, starts out with science, economic, the ah, industrial development, is that not ah, not only have political systems and village systems been destroyed, but the social traditions that enable people to be happy, truly happy, with their families, with their memories, they're being thrown away too. And the media has a big role in this. It says, "all that, all that stuff, that fabric, aesthetic, traditional fabric that's been holding your community together, is stupid. Buy Coke, and you will be happy." And people fall for it. I mean they, you know, people are vulnerable. They love to see those smiling, they know those, that's America. So, that's the real tragedy, 'cause that's an unnecessary loss. For people, for these certain people that I'm talking about at the top, who are driven by wealth, in many cases, in addition to sometimes truly believing that they are, they are making, or have the potential to make things better for the world, they throw out, or they cause to be thrown out, or they make sure that these other communities throw out some of the things that can sustain them. But they don't put anything in their place. I mean, apparently state ah, state communism made that mistake and I think capitalism seems to be making the same mistake. 
Hooper: This is, yeah sure it is.
Hooper: Well, let's see, you asked me--
Hooper: Yeah, ah, so when you have that, you tend to forget the genius of most people, as individuals and as a group.
Hooper: You know, the--getting back to the second coming and the savior. Um, it's logical to ask what is this savior going to save us from? And I think for most people, it's hopelessness, isn't it? I mean, you have, you have this pyramidal society, and the, the people at the bottom, some of whom are just desperately, it's a desperately low bottom, it means they're facing death or death of their loved ones as a very common experience; um, in a sense, if they are cons--if they are always aware of that reality, they'll, they'll go crazy. They'll be insane. How can you live, if you know that your life is hopeless?
how could you explain that?
I did a little bit. Also I have to deal with the concept of genius, or 
I don't know, have I said enough?
I haven't had enough sleep yet to contemplate the answers--
idea, somebody being able to see a musical instrument that's never seen it 
if you want. 
image, and all those things, and they don't have the same, the same, 
in the future when the battle will be won. You know, but Christianity, 
inclination, used with to or for: "She has a genius for acting." B. One 
include, in the old days, the idea that the sun just might not come back and 
individual cognition: Genius 2000."
intuitions, (close pan of dictionary) and having an intuition is a very very 
is kind of what a lot of people seem to think, because they're able to think 
it take to be a genius? Do you have it? Does anyone you know personally 
it's about this, it's about tryin' to um like, predict this one day far off 
it's not religious.
Ivan: "Christianity is a battle in the discussion of media control; Crucifixion is an act of protest demanding access; the Second Coming is god's final messenger; God is the ineffable union of history and individual cognition: Genius 2000."
Jeff: Just say Michael Jordan.
John Keller: I didn't hear a whistle, did you? (Laughs.) I didn't hear a 
John: Ah, it's not necessarily what, you know, he can do that no one else can do. It's just the type of person he is--on and off the ice.
John: And--
John: And--ah, well, today?
John: Beautiful. Beautiful goal. (Max does a pumpernickel.)
John: He plays for the Detroit Red Wings.
John: Hello.
John: Hey, thank you.
John: I'm John, I'm from Minnesota.
John: Is he? (John takes black bishop.)
John: Of skating? I'd have to go with Steve Yzerman--
John: Okay here you go Max, pump it home baby, pump it home-- 
John: Oop--ooh, oh, well it looks like he might be hurt. I didn't hear a 
John: Shoot a little of me. 
John: Thanks.
John: To tell you the truth, I don't think it's gonna affect it at all.
John: Yeah, you better get back to the action.
John: Yzerman. Steve Yzerman. 
Jon Olson: (Inaudible.)
Jon: Jesus of Nazareth. (Cut to Eli's pictures.)
Jon: Which one?
Jon: Yeah. These the ones he did?
Just say that, and it'll happen.
Justin Pickens: In different ways--
Justin: Genius. Definition one. An attendant spirit or tutular deity. 
Justin: Pickens, that's right.
Justin: Yeah. Justin "the Millennium" Pickens, that's right.
kind, as "a man of genius;" also a man endowed with transcendent ability. 
know, ahead of the whole world in science; but then their, their religion 
know, I mean it. I'm the Messiah, because I have the idea; I'm incarnating 
latter part of December which is the winter solstice. So you're going from 
light-sabre, and it's the whole galaxy. 
man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not 
Man: "Asz nash tabat kaluk, asz nash tlat kaluk"--I can't say it anymore. 
Man: "Asz nash tabat kaluk, asz nash tlat kaluk, asz nash grimbatul"--that's all I remember. I used to try to speak it--
Man: --And what do I think about the year 2000? Um, I think, I don't know, to me it's kinda just another year, it doesn't really have any bearing on how I'm living my life or how I plan to live my life at the time. It seems like there are a lot of people who think that it's going to be a time of great change, or disaster, or catastrophe, but personally I think it's just gonna be another year and a lot of people are going to be really disappointed. 
Man: Ah, in my belief what it takes to be a genius is an acceptance of a certain inherent paradox: the fact that you need belief--(Max turns on camera light)
Man: I don't remember it all.
Man: I don't think, I don't think man has that much foresight. Just, can't stop. You know, it's like that little snowball rolling down the hill, now it's an avalanche.
Man: I remember one, I remember one, my favorite saying from the Lord of the Rings. I used to say it to alot of people I knew. "Elensil lumen nomentielvo"--A star shines on the hour of our first meeting. 
Man: I think it will be. I think it will be kind of a ah, I think, I think people have a pretty strong connection to numbers, and I think it will be kind of a cathartic experience for people to feel that they've gotten through this century, where so much has happened and, and started the next one, you know. It, it may be a time when philosophy and, and intellect and thought will have a great rebirth.
Man: I think there's an expectation, in a lot of people, even I guess myself to a degree, that something could happen, and usually when people are looking for something they're gonna find it. 
Man: It just seems like it would--I don't know, the world--everything seems too chaotic to be, to be dependent upon this one time that was based on a date that no one really, that was just a guess anyway, you know. How do I know Christ was born at that time? That could be just some yutz saying that in a book and it's wrong.
Man: Just, I would not doubt it will be the end of the world.
Man: No, I don't see, I don't see you know, a Messiah rising up from the ocean to damn and save us, and I don't see--
Man: Oh wow, no that's cool, go for it. You need belief--
Man: Okay, better? You need belief in yourself to become a genius or realize your full potential as (switch to night vision) a quote "genius." But at the same time, in our culture, belief has been proven to be the crutch of fools, of, a way of leading the sheep, into, you know, whatever, you know, consumerism, or whatever dominant paradigm is out there. So, the real--really the only key to being a genius is the constant urge to learn, the constant urge to realize that you're a fool, that you know nothing, and that you've got to keep moving. It's the only chance that you're ever gonna have to achieve it. Um, whether I have it or not I have no fucking idea. But, um, it takes a shitload of fuckin' strength, I'll tell you that, especially with this entire world aimed at shuffling you into those boxes of production and consumerism and so forth, that it feels necessary.
Man: So, there may be a perception of that, and--
Man: Sounds like something from Babylon Five.
Man: That was a long time ago. I remembered--
Man: Well I can see that--
Man: Well I have a hard time thinking that any sort of event of that magnitude would be honed into a particular date. 
Man: Well, what do you want me to say? What do I think, what do I think about the year 2000?
Man: What I think about the year 2000, actually not much. Um, it's no big deal, it's just another year to me. I think it's gonna create a lot of mass hysteria though, in the public, ah, and we might as well bring about the next armageddon because of it. That's what I think is gonna happen. Just like in the movies.
Man: What you think about it or what I think about it?
Matias: (Laughs) Gollum gollum.
Matias: (Laughs) Light-sabre.
Matias: Alright. I don't think the Louvre is in my schedule, but--
Matias: And put it in the Louvre?
Matias: And you want me to messenger it and take, bring it to the Louvre. 
Matias: Aui?
Matias: Can I put it on my finger?
Matias: Dans la Louvre--
Matias: Deux milles--
Matias: Do I like who?
Matias: He controls all the other ones.
Matias: Hmm. So you changed the--
Matias: I'll do the French version of Genius 2000?
Matias: I'll do the French web?
Matias: Is there any purpose to that?
Matias: Je ne vais pas etre Napoleon.
Matias: Je suis quoi?
Matias: Moi? Non.
Matias: No, I think you still need to find the Ring, but--
Matias: Oh yes. 
Matias: Oh yes. I read Bilbo the Hobbit, I read all the Lords of the 
Matias: The extra one.
Matias: To?
Matias: Uh huh?
Matias: Well if you have it, you're controlling it, right?
Matias: Yeah; make it art? 
Matias: You put it on.
Max Herman: Yeah, this is my major film. (Gives Lesson Two to interested 
Max: "--Enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then came he which had 
Max: "Religion forgets that its own existence is a result of man's tragic 
Max: "The rhythm of Messianic nature is happiness. For nature is messianic by reason of its eternal and total passing away. To strive after such passing, even for those stages of man that are nature, is the task of world politics, whose method must be called nihilism."
Max: "We are all Christ, and we are all crucified every day." Sherwood Anderson, Winesburg, Ohio.
Max: "When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the children of the living father. But if you will not know yourselves, then you dwell in poverty, and it is you who are that poverty."
Max: "Whosoever drinks from my mouth will become as I am, and I will become that person, and the mysteries will be revealed to him." From the Gospel of Thomas, quoted in "Living Buddha, Living Christ," introduction, page nine. 
Max: 'Cause he just looks like a bum when he hangs around--
Max: 'Cause I'll be out of business.
Max: 'Cause--
Max: (Camera lands on "genius") For genius?
Max: (Hands Ralph Lesson Two.) Here you go. Nobody said yes or no. Here. 
Max: (Max stands up, ringing glass with knife) Alright everybody um, I'm kinda wasting film here, so ah--
Max: (Singing) "I'm gonna win."
Max: (Standing behind the banner.) No, it's too like, an homage to me. It's like a banner cheering me on.
Max: --And here's what you gotta do. 
Max: --And that kind of connects with the whole thing of genius. You know, like, why should we think we're such geniuses over here just because we're the strongest and have the most weapons or whatever or we're the richest. I mean, maybe if you gave like Bosnia, you know, those people over there, if you gave them a chance maybe after a while they'd be real good at stuff too. 
Max: --And we like truly understand that, so, so that, in the sense of like a message from beyond ourselves, there will be a final message, and this thing that we think is beyond ourselves is really just a belief that we've made up. It's sort of like we're getting a final message from our own ignorance, saying your ignorance is over, and you no longer have to be bound to it. And then you can go on and move on from there.
Max: --But like ah, I think when they first started with monotheism, this is where I was kinda tryin' to bring it all around, is that ah, you couldn't say the name of God--
Max: --I'm makin' a movie, you wanna be in it?
Max: --In human beings.
Max: --Is one, right, but then my genius would be one and then that's pretty damn meager, that's the lowest you can have. 
Max: --Like, like, exactly. And I wouldn't dispute that either. 
Max: --My media access we've agreed, my media access right now is currently one, so if my talent quotient is less than one, my genius quotient is ah--
Max: --Period, no question. And I think that's a whole nother bag of worms, or whatever, barrel of monkeys--
Max: --So, ah--
Max: --That's like, history is the 2000 part and genius is the individual cognition part.
Max: --That's--
Max: --Wrap though, let's finish up on the ah, the thing that you were saying before about like momentous events and shit like that, you know?
Max: --You know, we've totally misinterpreted ourselves as like this fuckin' battleship--
Max: Ah, do you think it could be like a really huge event though?
Max: Ah, I'm sorry, G=mt to the two thousandth power.
Max: Ah, I'm the champion of the world. 
Max: Ah, this one. 
Max: All animals that ah, are made captive act out obsessive behavior.
Max: All right go ahead.
Max: All right man.
Max: All right well mom, I just want to tell you that even though, I know, I know now that I will never ever be a genius, that I'm still going to try to be a good boy as long as I live, and I'll never go to the dark side of the Force, okay?
Max: Allright hold on a minute.
Max: Allright, fuck. Um, le Genius 2000, en la Louvre, in la Louvre--
Max: Allright, okay, so let me ask you this. I've given you the theory of relativity, right? So are there any geniuses mom?
Max: And ah, G stands for genius--
Max: And ah, instead of E=mc squared--
Max: And also--
Max: And here I am, and I cannot do any better.
Max: And I don't, I don't like a lot of--(cut ahead) I guess like the conservative side of it is also important.
Max: And I kept the One Ring.
Max: And that's for a rideable bike.
Max: And that's very vain.
Max: And that's, and because they used the new media of the written word to be the most effective marketing tool for like the human mind, and like, you know, what it can do, things like that. So they're trying to organize your thoughts by giving you this weird mysterious symbol that you will think about and struggle with and so forth. But it's basically marketing.
Max: And who owns it? Do I own, do I own that year?
Max: And, you know, it's just chit-chat, we've discussed it, oh, time and time again, but, um, we basically got down to the situation where we were talkin' about intelligence, and what good does it do you? What good does it do you to be smart, and intelligent. And, um, Dad--
Max: But ah, anyway, but ah, what do you think, who's a genius about the year 2000? Anybody?
Max: But check it out bro--
Max: But just say--
Max: But see, I'm not saying that Christianity is a form of media control; 
Max: But what if someone said you've gotta decide right now? Like someone said ah, that the University of Minnesota is gonna start a year 2000 department, and they, and they want one guy to run it, and ah, you had to choose the guy--
Max: But what if, what if he ah--
Max: But what if, what if he, what if he doesn't ah, what if he wimps out though?
Max: But what should I do with it? You can decide for the people of France 
Max: But you know what I think it is, is 'cause like genius is like ah, it's like nature. And you can't confine nature. If you do try to confine it, it's always gonna always break out of its container. And ah, that's the reason why we don't understand what genius is because the only thing we understand is all these cracked pots that we had, that we tried to put in in so we could find out what it is, and we didn't realize it's all around us in nature. It's like the force; like Luke, feel the Force. Right?
Max: But you know what this is? This is like, this is like the sword of 
Max: But you know what, ah, I think--
Max: Compassion? I mean he says he's a trend guru, so compassion will be a trend?
Max: Dans la Louvre, en l'annee--
Max: Deux milles, oui.
Max: Did you do any of these?
Max: Did you, did you see that Howard Stern thing? There was a--
Max: Do you think I--whoa dude what happened--Do you think I have the One 
Max: Don't tell me the show was called Genius 2000.
Max: Dude, I totally believe in depression as like a, like a psychic phenomenon, and like a cultural phenomenon, economic, everything.
Max: English.
Max: Even though I'm kinda resentful that there's no such thing as a genius and yet every moment of every waking day I was told that one day I would be a genius.
Max: Fuckin' NBC.
Max: Genious, O-U-S.
Max: Get that ah, get that painting over there dude. 
Max: He had pride.
Max: Hey ah, hey dad, remember when ah, I, you said I was gonna make the new literary theory of relativity? We were talkin' about that at Mike's one time? 
Max: Hey ah, Pat do me a favor--
Max: Hey man, let me add, let me add somethin' in bro.
Max: Hey, ah, do you think this room kinda looks like Stanley Kubrick-ish?
Max: History is the subject of a structure whose site is not homogeneous, empty time, but time filled by the presence of the now. Thus, for Robespierre, ancient Rome was a past charged by the time of the now which he blasted out of the continuum of history.
Max: Huh?
Max: I don't know what exactly it would be but it could be something.
Max: I don't know. Well if it's less than one then my genius quotient would be what, like zero? 
Max: I don't really know. I mean, I guess, like I can live with things if they don't, you know?
Max: I don't think that's on tape Rick. It's kind of exciting though. (People clapping.)
Max: I gave it to you.
Max: I got a piece from one of his poems here where he kinda makes up a conversation between him and the, ah, the prophet Ezekiel--
Max: I have it in my hand, I'll give him a hundred dollars, just say yes or 
Max: I just heard the word genius. (People talking)
Max: I know, but this one's all dried out and hard.
Max: I like that one Jon, don't you?
Max: I love the dog.
Max: I mean it's like, there comes a point where you lose your perspective. You know, it's like you start--
Max: I mean, ah, Hitler's--
Max: I mean, it's not in my power to make it momentous. 
Max: I mean--
Max: I own it.
Max: I own it?
Max: I think I'm the next Jesus Christ. I think I deserve all the best.
Max: I think the web could be a total dystopia--
Max: I think we can prevent the chaos.
Max: I think you should do what you think is right.
Max: I'd say, ah--(tape runs out).
Max: I'll be S.O.L.
Max: I'll beat you up.
Max: I'll just start my, um, story; I, I don't want, ah, you know, other people to miss their turn to tell the story, so ah, I just, um, I wanted to, um, tell my story first off about how ah, Mike, one time he told me, that when ah, we, I was was little boy, I was three years old, he said I came to visit 'em, and he said that we, ah, just had a conversation, and we--it was at the other place, I think out in, ah, Maplewood, or near there, and--
Max: I'm extremely guilty of the sin of pride.
Max: I'm gonna eat it, but they're not very good quality.
Max: I'm gonna say, you own it. 
Max: I'm good. My game went pretty good.
Max: I'm just saying, like, you gotta admit, that to the extent that you do think about the year 2000, you should think about it for yourself--
Max: I'm making the deadliest movie ever in history bro.
Max: I'm Napoleon, and I'm gonna conquer Russia. I love--I like Napoleon. 
Max: I'm not far back enough. I don't care though. All right. (Entering the Mall.)
Max: I'm the fuckin' baddest. It's the baddest man, it's the best--
Max: I'm the--it's fuckin' over man, fuck it. Dude man, I fuckin'--
Max: I'm wasting my film?
Max: In the book there.
Max: Is that too irritating? 
Max: Is your full name Ezekiel?
Max: It is now.
Max: It is? Here Pat, have a look there, ah, leaf through that, there's a quotation from Ezekiel.
Max: It was about genius?
Max: It won't be from external, it won't be from like a cosmic event--
Max: It's a battle. I'm--there's billions.
Max: It's about the year 2000. Say whatever you think about the year 2000.
Max: It's all of our ideas. (Max moves to side of banner and holds it up.)
Max: It's called G=mt squared. 
Max: It's on.
Max: It's the baddest motherfuckin' thing! And you know what? You know what man? Fuckin' people figured it out before the year 2000. They figured it out before the year 1999 came. So they can think about 1999 while they're fuckin' in 1999 man.
Max: It's the deadliest sin of all.
Max: It's the deadliest. It's the baddest.
Max: It's the One Ring. Do you like J.R.R. Tolkien?
Max: J.R.R.R. Tolkien?
Max: Justin "the Millennium" what? 
Max: Let him talk Pat, shut the fuck up, he's still fuckin' talkin'--
Max: Let me go off on a monologue dude. Where you can get the audio.
Max: Like cognition, I mean ah, everyone has cognitive faculties. You know? I mean, for me, genius and cognition slash perception are kinda the same thing. And everyone has faculties for cognition and perception, but they're not always using 'em. You know, it's possible for them sometimes not to use them, whether it's by, you know, limiting their environment in a really severe manner, or, using some kind of drugs, or some kind of, you know, learned thought-patterns that are like really really restricting, and, you know, limiting to the, kinda the--
Max: Like he never talks to anybody, he's all run-down lookin'--
Max: Looks good on video dude.
Max: Man, fucking deadly. Over. Fuckin' over man. Over. Year 2000 motherfucker! Year, fuckin' year 2000 man! Fuck that shit! 
Max: Man, it looks bad. (Turns light off.)
Max: Maybe you could introduce yourself though, that's good.
Max: Maybe, maybe he's just sayin' that so people will listen to him.
Max: Me stands for tal--I'm sorry, me stands for media, and t stands for talent. So genius is media times talent to the two thousandth power. Now--
Max: Mom, I can't do any better than I have right now and I want you to just give me the seal of approval, I am now a genius, and I can rest my weary bones.
Max: My genius quotient would be one, and that's completely--but see, if either my media or my talent were greater than one, even by the slightest amount, fraction--
Max: Napoleon?
Max: Nice ah, modeling here dude. You know what I'm saying?
Max: No man, maybe fuckin' God's gonna fly down from heaven in a big 747, you know, and give us all a jug of wine and some banjos, you know. But ah, here's what I'm thinkin' dude--
Max: No mom, come on, please--
Max: No! That's the internet! That is the fuckin' internet man--
Max: No, do I own it?
Max: No, I have to have more than one--
Max: No, I think I'm, I think I have the answer for humanity.
Max: No, I'm just pretending. 
Max: No, I'm, I'm pretty good at that Mom. (Cut ahead)
Max: No. You will take the One Ring.
Max: Noam Chomsky's birthday, send him a letter. Noam Chomsky's birthday, send him a letter on the web.
Max: Now for me to be a genius, I need to have, ah, genius times t to be greater than one. Or I'm sorry, media times talent to be greater than one. Now I think right now my media is only one, because I'm the only one who gives a flying, ah, sausage about my project. So the media aspect is definitely one. Now what about the talent aspect? Do I have more than one? (Laughter.) I think I only have one--
Max: Now repeat that.
Max: Now we're taping.
Max: Now you're famous. Allright. And you're Justin?
Max: Of Jews, of Jews winning--
Max: Oh dude, we got the internet! We got the internet man! That's what it is! (Pointing to camera.)
Max: Oh I need a smoke too. See, in the Lord of the Rings, there's twenty 
Max: Oh I wish you remembered it. 
Max: Oh my god. (Coughs.) So what do you think dude?
Max: Oh these are terrible dude.
Max: Oh, you weren't even talkin' to me. (Laughs.) Sorry. My bad.
Max: Oh.
Max: Okay, now don't get this wrong. Do you know the poet William Blake?
Max: Okay, so anyway ah--
Max: Okay. These are kind of ah, these are kinda deep dude. 
Max: One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring 
Max: Oui.
Max: Really?
Max: Really?
Max: Really?
Max: Richard--
Max: Right up here.
Max: Right--
Max: Right--
Max: Right--
Max: Right.
Max: Right. 'Cause I sorta think that like it's definitely possible that ah, some kind of something could happen. And not to say that it would be like anything supernatural, more like just a sort of a general mood among people, like something really could be different, you know. 
Max: Right. But we gotta tell him, you know, we put you in the ring--
Max: Right. Yeah. And I'm just tryin' to say, it's kind of like, I mean, it's only important because it is the year 2000 you know, but it's important at the year 2000 you should think about it for yourself. Don't let someone tell you what it's about. You know, you might miss out. You know, you might get something put over on you. 
Max: Right. You shouldn't let someone tell you what it means, right?
Max: Say it like you own it.
Max: Say it like you own it. 
Max: Say it!
Max: Say it!
Max: Say, say I own it.
Max: See--
Max: Shut up man.
Max: So ah, Zeke--
Max: So I don't know if I'm Genius 2000 or not man, we'll see.
Max: So I think, in other words, you have to say "I'm the Messiah." Because 
Max: So nobody's a genius?
Max: So Ted you didn't give me your answer.
Max: So what about Grandma Margaret, is she a genius?
Max: So you guys are saying I'm the best genius ever?
Max: So, would you think it's too crazy just to read that?
Max: Sort of the web--the web as culture; and ah, I like rock and roll so I like the kinda in-your-face, ah, you know, exuberance of um, you know, mere self-assertion, and um--
Max: Stored in a crackpot?
Max: Sure. I'm just gonna go hand-held boys, 'cause I'm gettin' kinda--
Max: Talk about this one here, this is a real good-lookin' one.
Max: That dude's doin' a picture of Jesus, right?
Max: That one dude who was a DJ tonight with the beard? Fuck, I didn't 
Max: That one I had was pretty fuckin' dried up.
Max: That to me is the culmination of like these little seminal principles of American democracy--
Max: That would've been a powerful spell if you'd remembered it.
Max: That's about it.
Max: That's genius bro, that's Benjamin dude, that's a major philosopher that you we're just talkin'--
Max: That's how I am. See, if I was more ah, had more like broad-based things I wouldn't be as good at this. 
Max: That's not a good example.
Max: That's not--so wait, so you literally think I am not a genius?
Max: That's the DJ from tonight man!
Max: That's why. Right Carah? You know what I'm talkin' about, right?
Max: The concept of genius. Now isn't that what I, what I was talking about?
Max: The extra ring. And then, the question is, who's gonna control that 
Max: The year, the year ah--Well, I don't, you might not miss nothin', but--
Max: Then he turns out to be a fat-ass DJ. (Singing) "I'm gonna win." 
Max: There's dude, kickin' it, whoo, whassup! (Shot of mannequin on bmx bike.) Check this dude out.
Max: There's Jesus.
Max: There's the pedals--
Max: They were writing about me doing this. They're the fuckin' prophets man, put 'em in a Bible, the new Bible, that I'm writing. That's all I'm sayin' man. Fuck it.
Max: This footage will be incredible. 
Max: This guy's fuckin' advertising his fuckin' website. He pretends like 
Max: This is Hi-8.
Max: This is turning out just how I wanted it. (Shot of Lesson Two on bar with a dollar bill.) You know what money--you know what money is for? Money is made to inspire us. "Wanna tell you one thing I heard." Here, listen to this, see if you can hear the lyrics. "I don't know if I can believe a word; they'll tell you that there's a time and a place where you gotta make your mark and you gotta save face--" 
Max: This one's awesome dude. 
Max: Try to read it as loud as you can--read it as loud as you can.
Max: Uh huh--
Max: Uh huh.
Max: Uh huh. Yeah.
Max: Uh huh?
Max: Uh huh?
Max: Uh, allright, now I'm going to put the camera on myself. So, I think it's pretty clear, in order to be a genius, you have to have media times talent greater than one. Now the talent, I think is highly debatable at this point, in fact, I'd say it's definitely not greater than one. Um--
Max: Um, do you think I'm a genius? (Laughs.)
Max: Um, so Constantine realized that he would have more trouble governing the decrepit Roman Empire without Christianity than he would have with Christianity. He saw the sun--he worshipped the sun god, and the sun god is like the wisdom-god or the knowledge-god or whatever, and he realized that, that at that time, wisdom and knowledge were sort of overlaid by this template of the cross. It's like, that's, that was where it was at, at that time, you know? There was something about that that had an energy to it, that drew people in.
Max: Vanity.
Max: Very prideful.
Max: Wait a second--you raised me up my whole life telling me to work and strive one day to be a genius, and now you're telling me nobody on the face of the earth in all history--
Max: We walked down to the lake, and there was a lake, and, you know, we just had a conversation--
Max: We're backin' him all the way bro, he's our homey. 
Max: Well here, here's what I think, is that um, is that Christianity--I got 
Max: Well I wanted to get you to go on the record as to whether, um, you feel that ah, that to have the word like "Yahweh," remember--
Max: Well I'm just curious, you know, why'd you tell me that if you didn't want me to become a genius--
Max: Well I've always believed that anticlimax is sort of the essence of all truly wholesome progress. You know, um--
Max: Well I've invented it, and ah-- 
Max: Well it's kinda like conceptual art, and I think conceptual artists, ah, are sorta trying to work with the material of ah, um, like perception maybe, but that's not really--I don't, it doesn't sound like a good answer. When I--'cause when you ask me about motivation I think about greed.
Max: Well it, it's kinda--
Max: Well what is a number less than one to the two thousandth power? It's like ah, very close to zero, right?
Max: Well, ah, I think maybe--
Max: Well, I think artists have a pretty strong um, marketing, ah, responsibility now, um, because culture is primarily, ah, created through the market and people live in a world that's, you know, built around the market, so um--
Max: Well, I think the year 2000--you wanna know what I think about it?
Max: Well, I'm kinda like--I don't know, what do you mean?
Max: Well, say what you think about it.
Max: What a dark future--
Max: What can I look at here?
Max: What do you mean? Like a genius?
Max: What do you think about like the Second Coming you know, all that mythology? I, I assume you don't believe in it but--I mean I don't.
Max: What if ah--
Max: What if he loses his nerve and he doesn't lead us to that year 2000?
Max: What if it's the start of the world? Beginning of the world?
Max: What it means to be a genius?
Max: What was it--
Max: What, I, I'm looking, I--in a way I'm looking for, I think what a lot of artists are looking for, although they couch it, and they kind of camoflage it, they couch it in different terms, is you know, I--I'm sort of looking for a, a community of sorts, you know, a world of sorts. Um, and I'm kinda trying to articulate the um, you know, like the covenant, you know, like for some little colony, ah, you know, not--not like geographical colony, but you know just a mood or whatever, you know, like the Bloom--Bloomberg or whatever you call it--
Max: What?
Max: When I was young you always encouraged me to think I was a genius. Or you, no no, I'm sorry, you encouraged me to strive to one day become a genius. 
Max: Which is kinda bunk.
Max: Who ran it?
Max: Whoa, what did he just say about a whole new world bro? What did he say about that?
Max: Yeah but I mean--
Max: Yeah, but it's asymptotically approaching zero. You raise anything to the two-thousandth power you're talking about zero. So if my talent is less than one, my genius quotient is virtually zero. And ah, my media--
Max: Yeah, but you know what happened?
Max: Yeah, how, I mean how many bike chains are in that, like four? 'Cause you gotta make those.
Max: Yeah, I like art a lot, ah, and I think it's um, sort of a battered institution. You know, it's being torn apart by scavenging forces like Nike, and ah, Microsoft, and all my favorite songs are showing up on commercials, ah, I think Michelangelo is sort of a poster boy for, ah--
Max: Yeah, I mean the whole thing is the nov--history as the novel, the novel as history, and advertisement for myself, I mean those, you can add those together and, um--
Max: Yeah, I mean we're animals, like we can be trained and stuff. Go to that one?
Max: Yeah, I, I like ah--
Max: Yeah, it's ah, William Blake. (Cut ahead)
Max: Yeah, it's like the kind of choices you make, stuff like that, you know. Like, I mean--I don't know, I agree. Thanks alot, I think that was real cool. So, did you find the part there Pat?
Max: Yeah, say that.
Max: Yeah, that's what I'm good at.
Max: Yeah, you could say that.
Max: Yeah--
Max: Yeah--
Max: Yeah.
Max: Yeah.
Max: Yeah.
Max: Yeah.
Max: Yeah.
Max: Yeah.
Max: Yeah.
Max: Yeah.
Max: Yeah.
Max: Yeah.
Max: Yeah.
Max: Yeah.
Max: Yeah. Get rid of those god damn Christmas carolers.
Max: Yeah. I mean you could say that I think that I understand love better than everybody else. (Max sings along with Maggie May on the stereo.) See I think that if people would just listen to me and learn my wisdom, the world would be so good.
Max: Yeah. I mean--
Max: Yeah. No, no autoharps. Um, but what I'm thinkin' dude is that I think, I think about iconoclasm, you know, and what that means, and like how we've seen iconoclasm down through history. And how we've seen systems that pretended to be coherent and complete get broken, you know? Get broken by new insight. Like Galileo and Copernicus, or like Einstein. You know, Newton thought the universe was a big square box, you know, and Einstein proved that that was wrong and it fucked things up. And I think that whole--I mean, and then you have Duchamp or, you know, Dadaism, you know; I mean you have iconoclasm; you have, you have the Greek iconoclasts, or you have the Puritans in England, you know, you have Cromwell, and no more Books of Common Prayer or whatever the fuck. You have iconoclasm going all down the line, right? And you have Pollock, I can paint drunk, you know, I can paint like a fuckin', you know, I can slop shit around, and it's still painting. Or Whistler for Christ's sake--
Max: Yeah. Potter's Pond, and ah, and anyway, you know, I took that as kind of inspirational because I felt like it was ah, you know, it's a nice thing you hear about yourself, and it's kind of interesting, you know, whatever. And ah, so anyway, I was gonna tell my story about how, ah, we were drivin' up here tonight, um, and we started talkin' about Robert Pirsig who wrote Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Max: Yeah. Which is what I thought I was gonna try to do. 
Max: Yes it is. Yes it is. That's the sin that made Satan go to hell.
Max: Yes! What's up Li.
Max: Yes, it's asymptotically zero.
Max: Yes, well I've always believed that anticlimax--
Max: Yes. But when I made my ring, I made twenty. And then I kept one for 
Max: Yes. You will own it; you will carry it.
Max: You can keep it in your house. You can keep it in your wallet. You'll 
Max: You couldn't say it, you could only write it. Yeah. You could only write like "YW, YHWH." And it was like the unspeakable word, you couldn't speak the word of God. Because they wanted your associations to be totally like on fire, you didn't want to reduce it down to a word. So I think basically monotheism was based on a marketing concept.
Max: You did these?
Max: You don't have to. Just speak from the gut, use your force, your energy of a, of a fighter, a person--
Max: You gotta be, you gotta be the genius of 2000.
Max: You guys decide.
Max: You guys think he deserves a hundred bucks? 
Max: You just trying to keep me out of trouble? He's a genius of wife-beating.
Max: You know all the fuckin' writers of the twentieth century were writing about me? 
Max: You know what I think is better is, "He who breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom."
Max: You know, when I own it, you know what I'm gonna say?
Max: You know--
Max: You own it.
Max: You own it.
Max: You should say, "the people of France should put it in the Louvre." 
Max: You want that in here?
Max: You would choose Jesse Ventura?
Max: You're saying there is no such thing as a genius?
Max: Zoom in on it. (Shot of card.) Allright. Okay here, ah, he says ah, he predicts a resurgence of compassion. Do you think that's kinda wishful thinking?
me to think about this concept of the millennium and the second coming, the 
media control.
Messiah, it's like a lame-ass little joke. Then on the other hand, they'll 
Michael: "Lesson Two. Christianity is a battle in the discussion of media 
Mike Mikkelsen: Potter's Pond. (Group laughter.)
Millennium. 1. A span of one thousand years; a millennary. 2. A thousand 
more? I mean, "Crucifixion is an act of protest demanding access," 
most inspirations are wrong, and the perspiration comes from sorting them 
most people say, it's because they're smart or something, but it's not, it's 
Mouse: (Holding Lesson Two) You know what my favorite part of this is? "God is the ineffable union of history and individual cognition."
Mouse: --And our technology and our understanding and our communicative abilities are all rapidly, rapidly accelerating; what's happening is we're having a convergence point, right--
Mouse: --Anyway, my favorite line symbolizes this, "God is the ineffable union of history and individual cognition," because your individual cognition, and the history that we're expecting; not the history that--
Mouse: --Are coming together, and you're sensing this bigger picture--
Mouse: --But we're also a really self-destructive species, right? 
Mouse: --It's all a catalyst--
Mouse: --So as we approach this time, where have all these expectations, of what's gonna happen, whether it's the Second Coming, or whatever--
Mouse: Exactly, we're opening the crown shakra, and what it is, is we're having this whole global experience of people connecting together, right? And our modes of abstract thought have been extrapolated out to crazy levels. Right? And we have the technology to fulfill all these things, right? 
Mouse: Is this shit on? Is this shit on?
myself. So there's twenty-one.
Narrator: "Jesus said, 'If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you." The Gospel of Thomas.
Narrator: A false sense of security.
Narrator: An act of violence.
Narrator: Genius 2000 is a chaos-based, data-mapping algorithm.
Narrator: Genius, 1. A. Exceptional or transcendent intellectual and 
Narrator: Retribution and destruction.
Narrator: ÔThe kung-an and its function. The chinese word "kung-an" means "official or juridical document; a document of official value." Instead of kung-an, sometimes one uses the words ko-tac or teui-dao, which mean respectively, "classical formats" and "the essence of a conversation."Õ
no. 
NPR 2: Test one two three, testing testing. This is Charles Jeter, sitting here on my bed, December the 22nd, 1998. And I'm doing my final diary, and these words I will give you will be my final words. I'm fifty-one years old, and up until now I have never completed anything that I started. See, I never completed my schooling; I never stuck with a job very long; everything I did was a failure as far as I'm concerned. I think by doing this ah, tape, and completing something, that I could once say that ah, I finally finished something that I started. Something that I can look back on and say, "that's my story. That's my story." And ah, I always said to myself, "I wonder what my purpose on this earth was, why did God put me on this earth?" But now I know that he put me on this earth for a reason. And I, Charles Jeter, sitting here in my room, looking at a lightbulb in the ceiling, I say "Thank you." This is Charles; goodbye.
NPR 3: Charles Jeter's story was produced by David Isay and Stacy Abramson.
NPR: --Then, years ago, tourists in the city, you wanted to go see the Bowery. The Bowery today is the same as every other street in the city. There are no more people sleeping on sidewalks, no more, no more of the romantic kind of Bowery man that you remember from Steinbeck, you know, jumping on freights and going across the country....
Number seven: The association of influences of, as "the genius of 
Number two. Hence: A spirit presiding over the destiny of a person or 
on an open-net goal.)
on the one hand if you say that, people will think number one, he's just 
or see things differently than other people. You know? It's just like that 
out to fuckin' rip her apart, and all these people are watchin' it and they 
out. They're the raw material to try to--well that's--
own it. 
Party guest: Yeah.
passerby. She looks at it, walks away.) It's not religious; I guarantee, 
Pat Mountain: Puck is in play! (Laughs. Max gets puck at blue line.) Okay 
Pat: (Simultaneously) You should think about it for yourself. 
Pat: (To other girl) Hi. How are you? (Girl waves, says "good.")
Pat: --do you really feel there's evidence of a, of a chosen people, or, 
Pat: --then you're a genius.
Pat: All you need is one, plus a videocamera--
Pat: Allright, good. How'd your game go?
Pat: Allright. (John picks up orange pylon and balances it on his head while skating a big circle. Pat laughing.)
Pat: Are you--can I ask you--are you like an orthodox Jew--
Pat: Best of luck.
Pat: But we gotta be in his corner though.
Pat: Don't listen to him Johnny, he's kind of a bullshitter.
Pat: Elvis, Elvis, ah, whatever his name is? Steve who?
Pat: Exactly.
Pat: Excellent, excellent. Allright. Well, I'm gonna put this on the tripod.
Pat: Has that day arrived?
Pat: He can lead us to glory.
Pat: He could choke-- (Max loses puck, falls down.) 
Pat: He maybe is hoping for ah, a self-fulfilling prophecy--
Pat: How long you been skatin', Johnny?
Pat: I don't know. (Ezekiel Bakal takes pawn for checkmate.) Ah, he was 
Pat: I think ah, I think it's a, it's a genuine problem that people, ah, now 
Pat: I think that's a no.
Pat: I thought like, you hear people talk, and then you can tell they're 
Pat: In different ways, that's diplomatic but on the other hand it's 
Pat: In this book?
Pat: Is it less than one?
Pat: It's approaching zero--
Pat: It's still positive.
Pat: It's the worldwide Jewish conspiracy. (Laughs.)
Pat: John, say a few words.
Pat: Let's do "What Goes On in Your Mind." 
Pat: Maybe the trend is like to talk about how people are getting compassionate. But I don't, maybe, you never know. I mean--
Pat: Mmm hmm.
Pat: No way!
Pat: No, in your life. How do you think the new millennium is gonna affect skating?
Pat: Oh man. Plato Boulevard.
Pat: Oh yeah?
Pat: Oh, but it's still genius.
Pat: Oh, how can you put so much pressure--
Pat: Okay John. Thanks for your time.
Pat: Okay, allright. Who's the greatest genius of ah, of ah, skating? Wayne Gretzky? Dorothy Hamill? Elvis--
Pat: Okay.
Pat: Okay. What can he do that no one else can do?
Pat: Perhaps, maybe.
Pat: Rapidly approaching zero.
Pat: Say hello. (Girl mouths the word "hello.") How are ya? (Girl says "fine," barely audible.)
Pat: She went to the same high school as Saddam Hussein?
Pat: That Herman's a fighter, he's a scrapper--Yeah! (Max gets the assist 
Pat: That's a resounding no.
Pat: That's kinda--but you never know, maybe it's true.
Pat: That's right man.
Pat: That's what we're talkin' about with everything: Chess, art, fascism--
Pat: The arabs, during the medieval times, for a long time were, ah, you 
Pat: Then we drag him through the streets of Minneapolis.
Pat: There's the painting. (Shot of a painting on wall.)
Pat: Uh huh.
Pat: Um, but whether people are--well, I don't know. 
Pat: Well I don't have to.
Pat: Well if the talent was even by the slightest fraction--
Pat: Well, free societies as a whole value--
Pat: Well, it's kind of ah, probably ah, self-serving. I've got a feeling he's probably of the baby-boom generation, and they love to kinda view themselves that way--
Pat: What if the talent is zero?
Pat: Where?
Pat: Who's that?
Pat: Whoa, lost ya.
Pat: Yeah, poor sport.
Pat: Yeah, that's what we were sayin'. But on the other hand, it's true 
Pat: Yeah.
Pat: Yeah.
Pat: Yes, can I bring up something, can I speak? I mean--
Pat: You add one times one to the two thousandth power is one.
Pat: You shoot that? (Max nods.) Okay, then we're done. Let's go.
Paul Tillich, "Theology of Culture," page nine.
people? How are the concepts of genius and the year 2000 connected?" I feel 
pickup game.
place. A nature spirit, especially a spirit of fire or air; (inaudible) a 
population of the world right?
population--
principles as religious Jews, which is questioning, and questioning all the 
questioning, and then eventually--
Racing Association, and I won all the races by putting high-heeled shoes on 
Racing Association, four stars; chef of Cafe Mondo, on Polk Street, Pacific, 
Ralph: --San Francisco. Hi, I'm Ralph. I'm, ah, head of security at 
Ralph: Crucifixion is an act of protest demanding access.
Ralph: I won a lot of races. Matter of fact the jockeys followed me to the 
Ralph: Sure. Lesson Two. Christianity is a battle in the discussion of 
real creative and interesting but they get too excited about their own 
received the one talent, and said, 'Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard 
regime of media control, right? And I think that's really the essence of 
remember that this, it happened that Christ was born, or, they just decided 
revolution came, most of the people, most of the people think about 
Richard Ferguson: One of those like--
Richard Rose: I think that nobody's a genius all the time. You can have a 
Richard: --All over her body and her ass too--
Richard: --One of those animal nights--
Richard: No shit.
Richard: No. No. 
Rick: 'Cause he's gonna win.
Rick: --Against the powers that be. Because I mean shit! I mean really though, I mean, the only thing we have about the year 2000 is a lot of medical shit, and the internet. But all the real shit, like the aircrafts--
Rick: --He got fuckin' mad bites on his neck--
Rick: Ain't a damn thing stoppin'.
Rick: Are you the incarnation?
Rick: But there's got to be more to it than that though. There's got to be more to it than that.
Rick: Come on man, you're slippin' on that one buddy--
Rick: Don't tell me to shut up man, fuck you guys.
Rick: Everybody has a vice. What would you think your vice is?
Rick: Fuckin' second-hand smoke kills man.
Rick: Give it to me, I'll eat it.
Rick: Hmm.
Rick: How loaded are you Max?
Rick: How's that? I mean, how deadly can that shit be, I mean really though.
Rick: I almost didn't let him in once.
Rick: I believe in him.
Rick: I got you.
Rick: I used to watch this program called "Space 1999," and that shit used to be hella crazy, and I used to trip about the year 2000 comin', and think that that shit would really be like the shit like spaceships and futuristic shit, but here it is, right on the horizon, and I'm thinkin' that all the covert shit they have, like Area 51, the government keeps that to themselves and shit and we as a populace we'll never see that unless there's a total revolution as we see it--
Rick: I'm getting good footage of you.
Rick: Is that one of the ten deadly sins, seven deadly sins?
Rick: It tastes good, for some reason when you get--
Rick: Let's get the fuck outta here.
Rick: Love.
Rick: No way. Pride?
Rick: Oh, he thought he was too good.
Rick: Oh, man. They're not too hard.
Rick: On what merit? Just because?
Rick: Really?
Rick: Really?
Rick: Scruffly man.
Rick: That ain't him.
Rick: They're warm.
Rick: Uh huh--
Rick: Vainglorious.
Rick: Vainglorious?
Rick: When you see him, execute him.
Rick: Yeah, this one's fucked up a little.
Rick: Yeah?
Rick: You don't strike me as a very prideful person, too prideful.
Rick: You guys smoke too many fuckin' cigarettes, man. Damn.
Rick: You have a lot of pride?
right now, as it exists, or are you talking about historically and 
Ring....
ring?
Ring? Do you think I'm Sauron?
rings. There's nineteen held by the good people; there's one held by the 
ritual because I love Jesus Christ and he will save me, and you can not 
Ryan Johnson: This is, this is the bike. Um, the original design for this, you know, came from the basic tall bike, but because the regular tall bike is so back-heavy, generally you sit about here, and that puts your center of gravity right above the rear wheel, so you know, they tip up a whole lot. You probably didn't want that to happen when you're--the seat of this is thirteen feet, that's the world record, twelve and a half, we broke it, six inches higher. 
Ryan: About six bike chains. And--
Ryan: It's six frames, five frames high, and you got universal joint steering because the only other way to do it is to line up--
Ryan: This is rideable. I can get on it by myself with just a tree. It's not in operation right now because of loose crank bearings; the chain'll derail and then I fall over. 
say "Well he's crazy, if he thinks he's the Messiah, fuckin' koo-koo, 'cause 
say, "I'm St. Judith, the Martyr," you know, "and I will not do the Roman 
Scene 10: Charlotte Herman eating breakfast in a diner.
Scene 10: Max with headphones, reading from Thich Naht Hahn's Zen Keys.
Scene 10: Outdoor hockey rink at Bryant Park, Minneapolis. Max skating in a 
Scene 10: Ted Sawyer at Christmas party.
Scene 11: Alan Hooper's office at the University of Minnesota College of 
Scene 11: Dinner party in southern Minnesota. People conversing.
Scene 11: Max and Rick, driving across the Bay Bridge at night, eating.
Scene 11: Ted and Max at Christmas Party.
Scene 12: Al's Breakfast with Carah and Charlotte Herman eating.
Scene 12: Alan Hooper in his office.
Scene 12: Charlotte, Max, and Carah in diner.
Scene 12: Ted Sawyer at Christmas party.
Scene 13: A chess game in a coffee shop. 
Scene 13: Alan Hooper, in his office.
Scene 13: Matias in his apartment.
Scene 13: Max reading.
Scene 14: Carter's dog Deuce in the car, looking upwards, with Pachelbel's Canon on the stereo. Sits patiently a few seconds then jumps off the seat.
Scene 14: Max, his parents, and Pat; driving, Christmas Eve, 1998.
Scene 14: Same coffee shop.
Scene 14: San Francisco club, the morning of January 1, 1999
Scene 15: Max being interviewed by Tim Sawyer Jr. at a Christmas party, 1998. He sits in a large stuffed chair with a fireplace in the background. 
Scene 15: Same coffee shop. Justin reading dictionary.
Scene 15: Ted Sawyer and Max at Christmas party.
Scene 15: Ted Sawyer at Christmas party.
Scene 16: Hooper in his office.
Scene 16: Man on street in Berkeley, standing in front of a mural of fish.
Scene 16: Max and Rick Tolden in Max's car. "I'm Gonna Win" on the stereo.
Scene 16: Max trying to ride a tall custom-made bike. Almost gets going then bike falls over.
Scene 17: Bar in Berkeley.
Scene 17: Matias' apartment. Shot of a PC with "Open Letter to 
Scene 17: Max, Pat, and Max's parents driving.
Scene 17: Max, Pat, and Zeke in coffee shop.
Scene 18: Max behind bar with camera. "Where Does it Come Down" playing in the background. (A Max Herman original written immediately after Mark McGuire's 62nd home run of the 1998 baseball season.)
Scene 18: Max in his car.
Scene 18: Max reading with headphones.
Scene 18: Max, Pat and Bryan playing music.
Scene 19: Max and some young children in the warming house at Bryant Park, Minneapolis. Pat is taping.
Scene 19: Max reading from a DJ platform with flashing lights; TV monitor 
Scene 19: Max reading.
Scene 19: Shot of water spinning in bacteria growth tank in Hooper's lab.
Scene 1: Ate
Scene 1: Driving across the San Francisco Bay Bridge, day.
Scene 1: Hybris
Scene 1: Koros
Scene 20: Ezekiel and Justin in coffee shop.
Scene 20: Max with his guitar.
Scene 20: Pat at a table in coffee shop, holding a card up to camera. The card reads "The Genius 2000 Project, Interactive Multimedia Art and Events, www.geocities.com/~genius-2000, genius-2000@geocities.com.)
Scene 20: Shot of Contribution One in coffee shop.
Scene 21: Hooper in his office.
Scene 21: Pat taping John at the ice rink.
Scene 22: Max reading. (From the Gospel of Thomas.)
Scene 22: Max, Carah, and Charlotte with a large purple and gold Genius 2000 banner (part of which appeared on the Monday Night Football broadcast of the Vikings-Jaguars game in December of 1998).
Scene 23: Rick using nunchucks.
Scene 23: Woman in loud bar.
Scene 24: Max and others at the bar.
Scene 24: Tim Sawyer Jr. and Jeff Jenkins at Christmas party.
Scene 25: Man outside 7-11.
Scene 25: Ted Sawyer and others at Christmas party.
Scene 26: A shot of three pelicans on the Lake in downtown Oakland.
Scene 26: Max and Rick driving across Bay Bridge, night.
Scene 27: Carter on street.
Scene 28: Hooper in his office.
Scene 29: Shot of the Genius 2000 Project Symbol, (the Dark Pixel, a black circle with "Genius" and "2000" in cross form superimposed).
Scene 2: "Genius 2000." Beethoven's Eroica playing, over Bay Bridge and 
Scene 2: Eli at the Mall of America.
Scene 2: Entrance to the Mall of America.
Scene 2: Max eating in his car, NPR on the radio.
Scene 30: Credits and musical outro.
Scene 3: Max passing out literature on UC Berkeley Campus, night.
Scene 3: Narrator. 
Scene 3: Shot of pedestrians in Mall.
Scene 3: Ted Sawyer reading on camera.
Scene 4: Andwele in loud bar.
Scene 4: Half-pipe inside mall; shot of a mannequin on a skateboard.
Scene 4: Max reading Walter Benjamin.
Scene 4: University of California at Berkeley campus. Genius 2000 street 
Scene 5: Approaching portrait kiosk.
Scene 5: Ezekiel Bakal, Max, and others in coffee shop.
Scene 5: Polk Street, San Francisco, evening, dogs in Max's car. 
Scene 5: Stalin in loud bar.
Scene 6: Ivan reading Lesson Two.
Scene 6: Late night party in San Francisco.
Scene 6: Man outside a 7-11, early morning.
Scene 6: Ted Sawyer at Christmas party.
Scene 7: Max reading from Walter Benjamin's "Theologico-Political Fragment."
Scene 7: Pat taping John skating.
Scene 7: Shot of url http://c5.sjsu.edu/index.html
Scene 7: Ted Sawyer at Christmas party, 1998.
Scene 8: Max at his computer, looking at website and smoking.
Scene 8: Shot of Max in his apartment.
Scene 8: Ted Sawyer at Christmas party.
Scene 8: Young woman at a club, New Year's Day 1999.
Scene 9: Alan Hooper in his office.
Scene 9: Hooper in his office.
Scene 9: Max driving up Twin Peaks, with Sex Pistols' "New York" on the stereo. Still shot of Suharto Tower disappearing in the fog.
Scene 9: Michael Warton at Liquid, Rick Tolden talking in background.
Second guest: This is the guy who does the commodities. "I ain't even smelled it, no, no, but I know that it's out there son, I'm gonna get it right, I'm gonna get it right now." (Max turns the camera in a long close-up of First guest's face.) "Where does it come down; where does it come down--"
Second guest: You got a smoke? "Where does it come down."
second millennium, and the second coming of Christ, whatever that means. So 
sense that he knew how to get attention and he knew how to sort of put into 
shadows lie. 
sign with Max Herman passing out Project literature.
something new coming to help us out of our dilemma. Now our dilemmas 
Stalin: Hi, my name is Stalin; and it takes to be a genius just to be alive; and, do you have it, yes, everybody does. Does anybody that I think personally to have it, yes, there are; they're many and different kinds. And what's the 2000 year mean? It means a new millennium, a new year, and, you know, a new sun rising, that's it. Ah, does it mean this, ah, maybe. Does this mean to you or other people? Maybe. How are the concepts of genius connected with the year 2000? (Last call bell rings). Normal, the same; probably better than five years ago; probably worse.
started refusing to do the Roman shit. You know, they didn't want to just do 
started to rein 'em in, and wouldn't let 'em pursue certain lines of 
strawed: And I was afraid, and I went and hid thy talent in the earth. Lo, 
take care of everything for us. So obviously I'm coming to the down side of 
talents.' For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have 
Ted: "Dear recipients of this Genius 2000 Media Action Update."
Ted: "Lesson Two. Christianity is a battle in the discussion of media control; Crucifixion is an act of protest demanding access; the Second Coming is god's final messenger; God is the ineffable union of history and individual cognition: Genius 2000." So--is this true just of Christianity?
Ted: (Clears throat.)
Ted: --And seeing different points of view, I think that would be the great momentous thing that could happen in the year 2000. A recognition of, you know, the validity of everyone's point of view; not that everybody's right, but that there are, that, like--
Ted: --But when people are more interested in sharing power--
Ted: --the year 2000. And then I think about a lot of other people, like there are a lot of people who think--they don't think the year 2000 necessarily, they think more like 2010 or whatever, when the Mayan calendar lines up, which is another, like, almost numerological point of view for interpreting the universe, um--
Ted: About what?
Ted: And that's why you have to break it--
Ted: Are you pretending that the year 2000 is going to be momentous, or do you really think it is?
Ted: But I mean, it's like, if they believe in that system of meaning, maybe something will happen for them--
Ted: But I mean, it's not a matter of being in your power; it's, the question is, do you think it will be, or do you think that, um, like all these other things we've discussed, it's really just a production, it's something that we're trying to create. I mean, I know that collectively we can make it momentous. 
Ted: But maybe that's because I'm sort of pessimistic.
Ted: But there's almost always been sort of an oracle element, even in those things, an idea of a center, you know. And even the concept of a web, um, at least as we know it biologically, is something that does have a center. Um, and maybe it's somewhat true of computer networks as well, that there is a center through which, you know, the interstices through which all of these things have to move. All of these--
Ted: But what we're talking about essentially is the fact that somebody has always wanted, I mean, when you talk about a system of meaning needing to be broken by an iconoclast, um, or the fact that it has traditionally occurred that way, you're talking about the fact that people have tried to use their control of meaning for power, and they do have power. If you can say, you know, and be believed, that this is how things happened when JFK got shot or when Monica sucked Bill's dick or whatever it is, um, and everybody accepts that as the truth then you have power. Especially if they recognize that it emanates from you and that you are the oracle. And people tend to be protective of that power--
Ted: Damn! Just when we were getting into the grand unification theory of monotheism and how it relates to marketing?
Ted: Do we want to keep--"God is the ineffable union of history and individual cognition." Well, I think we just sewed that up, in a lot of ways. I mean we created God; we're sticking to the story. For the purposes of this discussion, we're allowing it to be the ultimate paradigm--
Ted: Equally as bunk, perhaps. But if it--
Ted: Exactly.
Ted: For one I'm surprised to see, ah, I mean I understand from a, from a historical perspective what you're talking about, but I don't know to what extent you see these as real events; the Second Coming, crucifixion, Christianity....
Ted: Have you ever read "The City of Glass"? By Paul Auster? It's about that. But I think you're right--in part.
Ted: I mean, I really hope it doesn't--I really don't want the year 2000 to be particularly momentous. You know?
Ted: I mean, I think any habit can become restrictive, and limiting, you know, even if it's essentially a positive force in your life--
Ted: I think you've just covered that, by discussing martyrdom in general.
Ted: Is anybody anything all the time?
Ted: It sounds like society or humanity is gonna come out of depression.
Ted: Mmm hmm. Yeah.
Ted: NBC? Is a battle? 
Ted: No, I think you've said enough. Um, is--does that need to be discussed 
Ted: Not calliopes?
Ted: Okay.
Ted: Okay.
Ted: Okay. "Here at the Project we are planning to try to increase public, non-profit discussion of the year 2000 by demanding official acknowledgment of the Genius 2000 Project by Governor-Elect Jesse Ventura" Governor-Elect of the state of Minnesota. "Our request is that the Governor-Elect sign a letter in which he states or reacts to the following text: 'Whereas the upcoming year 2000 is of vast importance to the people of Minnesota on many levels; whereas I will be Governor of the State at that time; and acknowledging the need for sustained public discussion of this event in venues and forums offering the widest possible access to the people of this state; I support the following resolution presented to me by the Genius 2000 Project, a non-profit association of concerned Minnesotans. This group is not connected to any religious denomination, political party, or corporation. "Be it resolved: discussion and open debate, conducted with civility and mutual respect, must be the norm as we begin to contemplate the major historical, technological, and cultural milestone we are approaching in the year 2000. I pledge to support a public sphere of communication, via the internet and other media, which is as inclusive and open as possible. I support this both in my own actions and by advocating media access for all concerned members of our community."' This media action will involve a significant demonstration at the State Capitol, the Governor's Mansion, or other highly visible location. We will simultaneously e-mail or regular mail the above remarks in an open letter to Governor-Elect Ventura and ask that he offer a public response via some widely accessible news media." Do you want me to continue?
Ted: Okay. So--and how many people are in the loop on this? Are there a lot of people going around talking about this?
Ted: Omigod.
Ted: One battle. What are the other battles?
Ted: Right.
Ted: So all human beings essentially, have potential genius-energy, like rest energy.
Ted: So it--essentially, Christianity had a superior form of dissemination.
Ted: So we're gonna realize that we've created our own sickness, and that we can dispel it just as quickly. 
Ted: Starting with question number one? (Closes door.)
Ted: Then all you have is your mess. That's the only thing you can find solace in, because it's all you can know. 
Ted: Then it would just be the self-fulfilling prophecy. 
Ted: These questions written by the Genius 2000 Project. (Carolers in 
Ted: This room?
Ted: Well let's hear one more, just to kind of shed some light for me.
Ted: Well, I mean I was thinking about it a little bit while I was in the bathroom during a momentous event, and ah, I started wondering about it. I guess what I always associate the year 2000 with, and the Second Coming with, is more of a vision of the apocalypse, which I'm not really down with. I think that's pretty sad and pessimistic, and yet somehow I find myself, you know, worried that that's how collectively we're going to interpret--
Ted: Well, I'm just not sure if I know what all this means, I guess.
Ted: Well, maybe nobody is a genius. What do you think, Richard?
Ted: What do you mean, I guess, by Christianity is a battle? I mean, I know 
Ted: What does it take to be a genius? I don't know. I don't think that 
Ted: Where did this Genius 2000 thing come from?
Ted: Yeah, definitely.
Ted: Yeah--
Ted: Yeah.
Ted: You have to write about marketing?
Ted: You know, like, we can collectively decide to blow it up.
Ted: You know? But--
that he had been--was going to be born, in their mythology, on the, ah, the 
that it was going to be somebody who would take care of everything for us; 
that some people are smarter than others. 
that's pretty much, no one can dispute that. I'm saying Christianity is a 
The Genius 2000 Video First Edition Transcript: Ate
The Genius 2000 Video First Edition Transcript: Hybris
The Genius 2000 Video First Edition Transcript: Koros
the horses, chiropractic, acupuncture, heating up the oats and putting 
the idea." I mean what is the Messiah anyway?
The prevailing spirit or character as of a place, person, time, or group: 
the Roman rituals, then you can do your other Christian shit as well. But if 
the, the days have gotten shorter and shorter and shorter, and now the days 
them all and in the darkness bind them, in the Land of Mordor where the 
them studying like a test, you know, you give a question, I'm going to try to 
there is no Messiah." But then what if you just say like, "I'm not fuckin' 
there thou hast that is thine.' His lord answered and said unto him, 'Thou 
they want to openly attack the Roman system of media control, okay? So what 
think it was a DJ until I saw him tonight--
this 'cause I saw this show on Frontline, it was called "From Jesus to 
this isn't related but maybe--
this, of this concept. We've got to then talk about what is genius. I mean, 
thought that can be--
thought--
thousand years, they had the Torah, the Talmud, which is basically what was 
Tim Sr.: Can we have a time out by any chance? We're trying to close down the house for the evening--
Tim Sr.: I am a marketing writer among my other duties.
Tim Sr.: I write marketing.
Tim Sr.: No, I don't write about marketing, I do marketing newsletters for our portfolio.
Tim: (Takes a drag off imaginary cigarette) I am an artiste.
Tim: Apple Computers.
Tim: I had the whole world in my hand.
Tim: Kind of like Camille Paglia or the Rolling Stones, or--
Tim: Mmm hmm. Well what are your, what are your reasons for doing this that don't have anything to do with greed? Are you interested in art?
Tim: Self-promotion, Norman Mailer--
Tim: Something like that?
Tim: Sounds like--
Tim: What kind of people would be in your community?
to the exchangers and then at my coming I should have received my own with 
twenty-five percent--
two thousand years, all the core, of the status, and all the core of this, 
usury. Take therefore the talent from him and give it unto him which has ten 
was basically logic and rational. That's the Jewish tradition, right? So, 
was, um, was that basically what happened was that he was walkin' around, and 
we would be really in tough shape as far as growing some food, having 
west coast.
what's your, what's your opinion?
when, let's say, when the sixteenth century came, and the industrial 
which I have been doing for about thirty-five years. And ah, I also enjoy 
whistle! (Max fighting for puck on the boards.)
whistle, did you?
who has has such a talent or inclination: "He is a genius at diplomacy." 3. 
wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and 
wildlife running in the forests as game, et cetera. But then, ah, it evolved 
with static on left side of screen.
Woman: (Holding the cards under her chin) I'm a genius. Genius 2000. Two and two right back atcha.
Woman: (Laughs) You own it.
Woman: --Great--
Woman: --that you have a camera because, I was thinking, how am I going to spread myself around and make everybody in the world happy? There's only one me. That's fucked up. 
Woman: But I don't own it, we all own it.
Woman: But now there's a video camera, and technology, I mean, God knows what could happen. I mean, world peace, fuckin', I mean the human race--it's endless possibilities. Right or wrong?
Woman: Can I have a little part of it too?
Woman: I own it?
Woman: I own it?
Woman: Kay, you own it but I want--
Woman: NoÉ
Woman: Okay.
Woman: Omigod, that's something, oh no, no no no, I can't think of anything witty right now.
Woman: Questions? Anything? Anything? 
Woman: We all own it. 
Woman: Well exactly one year from now is gonna be the new millennium, and that's gonna be dope.
Woman: What do I say?
Woman: What?
Woman: When I first thought about the question, I thought from a kind of elitist point of view; like geniuses either produce great works of art, geniuses produce great music. But I think we don't count for like genius in smaller ways, like maybe a carpenter's innate ability to see a piece of wood and say "oh that's six feet long" without measuring. We don't count for like genius in what people do every day. Sometimes people have these amazing inherent talents that we just don't give credit to. And so I think, I think having a type of view that you have to leave the system to be a genius is very elitist, and doesn't help for like the everyday person, but--
Woman: Yeah, but I don't think you have to leave they system to be a genius. You can work within and find it in small ways.
Woman: Yeah. 
Woman: You own it.
Woman: You own it.
Woman: You own it.
Woman: You own it.
words a communal ethic that really resonated with some community in the, ah, 
write this guy a letter. It says museum of me. (Max typing.)
year period of holiness during which Christ is to rule the earth (Revelation 
yell and they'd have trials, and they'd put her in a stadium, and let lions 
you find in the Jewish, the Jewish population, the percent of the Jewish 
you refuse to do the Roman rituals, we're gonna kick your ass, right? We'll 
Zeke: "--Which was the cause of our despising the priests and philosophers of other countries, and of professing, how do you say that, professing that all gods would at last be proved to originate in ours, and to be tributaries, tributaries of the Poetic GeniusÑ"
Zeke: (Reading) "Then Ezekiel said, 'The philosophy of the East taught the first principles of human perception. Some nations held one principle for the origin and some another. We of Israel felt that the Poetic Genius, as you now call it, was the first principle and all the others merely directiveÑderivative?"
Zeke: --for two thousand years. It's a very interesting problem, because 
Zeke: --Which contributes to (inaudible), it contributes to fascism, Nazism, you know, it's a very very--if you're going to apply it on a social factors--
Zeke: --Yes, I tried to explain the origin, of like, people would say genius, you find out it's not, it's the hard work of generations, you know, just come, I think, just come from rational methods, practiced rational methods for all the time, which is come to, which is come to term in certain time--
Zeke: And all those people, they weren't geniuses because-
Zeke: But you don't find it's an elitist concept? 
Zeke: Can I sit here?
Zeke: English? (Cut ahead.) In English?
Zeke: Have only ten Jews compared to--but on the Nobel Prize, okay, 
Zeke: He always can be the referee, I mean--
Zeke: I agree with you. Genius, I mean, the genius concept is a very dangerous concept--
Zeke: I can give you, I can give you an example--
Zeke: I don't know, I can't talk, I can't answer this question, it doesn't make sense to me. But I mean, a genius in what form, why 2000? I mean genius, usually appreciate that, or maybe you should ask me on 2100 who was a genius in 2000. You need the time to, you need the perspective of time--
Zeke: I have, Jesse Ventura.
Zeke: I learned that from you.
Zeke: I'm Ezekiel Bakal, originally from Jerusalem, but, when I was in, when my mother was pregnant with me, she went to the, that's a true story, she went to the--
Zeke: If we put it on a large scale I can give you an example. Like like, 
Zeke: If you're gonna apply it on arts factors, you know, then you know, it's just like talk, it don't have no really meaning, of these; you can call Van Gogh a genius, but, you know, you can agree with it or cannot agree with it, it still doesn't have no harm to society. I mean, when you're gonna try to deliver genius to society factors, and try to govern, (points to Blake on table) that's exactly what he's saying, you try to give it a social value to that, and impose your principle of God because you are genius, you go and create monster, which is mostly what they do. So I think-- 
Zeke: It's going back to what I told you, it's ninety-nine percent hard work, just the timing--
Zeke: It's maybe zero, zero, ten perce--zero one ten percent of the whole 
Zeke: Miss what?
Zeke: No she didn't, no, she went to the grave of Ezekiel the Prophet, and she prayed over there, that I would be lucky, and you know, and have a good life, so it's happened, I met you, now--
Zeke: No, (inaudible) besides being racist, (laughs). Besides being racist, 
Zeke: No, I'm not.
Zeke: Okay, I can give you a rational explanation for that, okay? 
Zeke: Okay--
Zeke: Right, from the Bible.
Zeke: Right.
Zeke: Right. 
Zeke: Say it again?
Zeke: That's in Hebrew, or in English?
Zeke: That's where the certain time, the achievement, people call it genius but it's not genius--
Zeke: The rational explanation for that, that the Jews, during the two 
Zeke: They are only zero zero one percent (inaudible) how could they have 
Zeke: We just throw him out of the ring. 
Zeke: William Blake, he was English, or what?
Zeke: Yeah, if he becomes governor, he can lead us to the 2000 year, to the year 2000.
Zeke: Yeah, with one punch. 
Zeke: Yeah.
Zeke: Yeah.
Zeke: You can see glory, you see stars.
Zeke: You think they are genius, or what? How could you explain that? They