Richard Butchins's Blog: Angels stand corrected..., page 5

A short story without a happy ending

Are blog posts short stories? I suppose they are, almost everything is a story. People use them all the time to communicate pretty much everything. " I'm sorry I'm late the traffic was terrible." is a story. Questions are the other thing we use. "How are you?" questions are an invitation to tell a story narrative is everything to humans. A good narrative will take us somewhere unexpected and in an inventive and unpredictable way.

I often think of Great Expectations by Dickens as a fine example of this. It's a masterful use of narrative and surprise to make a clear societal point. Though he had to change the ending because people were unhappy with his original ending which was considered too bleak.

The same thing happened to Collodi after he wrote Pinocchio (originally entitled "The Story of a Puppet) Pinocchio is hung from a tree at the end of the tale. It seems the strange concept of a "happy ending" has power and one that I run into all the time. Listen up folks nobody lives happily ever after.

I have been asked to contribute a short story to an anthology to be published... actually I have no idea when, but I have one and it doesn't have a happy beginning let alone a happy ending.

Summertime and the living is sleazy

I have been wandering around in a cloud of pollen and media bullshit both make me sick but for different reasons - the Pollen - well it just irritates my trachea and sinuses and makes me sneeze. The media bullshit - well - you eat some and see what happens? From the outside it all probably looks like a wanker having a whine about not being allowed to express his true creative intent - and you'd be right.

Not trying to garner sympathy here but merely tell you that if you think that TV, Film, Radio or publishing have anything but contempt for the audiences they serve - you'd be wrong. And to make it worse everyone is terrified of making the wrong decision and of saying no.

This creates a very conservative atmosphere combined with a dumbing down to the lowest common denominator as it's really all about money and fear - fear of losing money. That's why there are endless Twilight and Dr Who novels that are utter shite - or 50 Shades of Grey. Sales are no indicator of quality unfortunately otherwise MacDonalds would be the best burger in the world....

Cough cough...

Damn but I have been ill. Still have a chest infection which will hopefully go away soon. This is more than can be said for the mind infection I have - It's literally driving me crazy. What is it called? I don't think it has a name or any treatment, I believe it's called thinking. It's painful and hard work and the results are not always fun but it's a unique activity and not enough people do it. Reading makes one think - can't be avoided. You have to create pictures in your mind to go with the words. Even reading a menu [though lot's of those are now printed with pictures to ease the pain] or a shopping list makes you create an image of what you are reading about. Well, I say you and, of course, I mean me. This happens to me when I read - does it happen to you?

What goes up - need not come down

Sometimes you have to claim small victories out of bigger defeats. After having all the filming kit and the footage stolen of me at gunpoint in Oakland. I received an call from my assistant to say that the camera bag had been discovered in a recycling bin ( environmentally conscious hoodlums - going green....). I got the footage back which was a big thing it has stopped the whole trip from being a very expensive wipe out. Inga my assistant got her i.d. back as well. Camera and money was gone but as I say sometimes you have to celebrate the smaller victories

Robbed at Gunpoint

Wow! Every cliche just came true. I was robbed at gunpoint in Oakland California on Sunday afternoon in the park. I was filming an interview with someone who knew the woman I am making art about, when two teenage african american males arrived - waving 9mm handguns - complete with extended capacity magazines - in my face. I mean that literally, one young man of about 16 pushed the nozzle of his manhood (in the form of a firearm) into my face.

They stole all the camera kit and all the footage along with it, which I imagine they sold for $500 in another park to buy drugs - for they were very stoned as they robbed me and my colleagues.

Then someone called the police who turned up and wrote a lot of things down apologised for their countrymen's behaviour and left. The local residents told me that it was a nice safe neighbourhood.

It didn't feel safe...oh and they stole my medication as well - so now I am crazier and poorer than usual.

Flying

LAX to Portland – In the airport, a stentorious voice emits from invisible speakers honouring US Military personal for their service it’s all a bit Brave New World meets 1984. There’s WiFi everywhere and nowhere, in the ether, in the somewhere else.

I am travelling around the USA to find out about the life of a woman, a woman who died in strange circumstances last year. She was a gifted singer and musician as well as a fine writer. I decided to create a memorial to her, a piece of art of which she would approve – which will be difficult because as she herself said: “I can’t consider anything finished unless it is perfect and nothing is perfect.” You see the other thing about this woman, that informed everything she was and did, is that she had Aspergers, she was a high functioning autistic woman, a savant if you will, one that had a way with words. She made a list, a list of traits – I suggested she do this, thinking there would be maybe 20 things at most but she came back with 213 things.

Here are some of them:

122. I started keeping a journal as a child in order to remember how terrible it was to be a child.

148. I have taken a vow of silence and was put on voice rest and it was like a dream vacation to not have to speak.

181. People often think that I am rude when I am, in fact, obsessed with being polite and friendly

195. I cannot, under any circumstances, do two things at once.


What surprises and saddens me is that there’s no mention of her “service” over the Public Address system.

LA Story

I arrived in Los Angeles after a gruelling 11 hour flight. Gruelling mainly because of a toddler wailing as if undergoing anaesthesia free surgery for most of the time. The child's parents looked fit to drop, or kill by the end of the flight - I certainly was.

I then had a long wait at immigration, the American Homeland Security people seem convinced that everyone want's to come and live in the USA. I love it here but it has a few things that would put me off wanting to live here (unless I was very rich - then everywhere's great) and lack of socialised healthcare is one of them, but the weather in southern California is ace.

I am in LA for a few days before going to Oregon to meet up with the sister of the person I am making this video art installation/film about; to collect her own footage and writings that will form the basis of the work. It's a sad journey but a necessary one.

I will write more about the project later.

going away is nerve-racking

I have to visit LA, Portland, Chicago, Olympia (lovely place near Seatle) Eugene, Oakland and a place called Timber Oregan (population 131) all in 7 days. Organising this has been stressful.

But it will be worth it as its the start of a poignant and moving project. I will be researching and filming material about a talented but disturbed young woman.

Watch this space.....

Who would have thought it..?

We had elections over here in the EU this week. It's kind of like electing Congress in the State's, anyway the right wing made some progress and the media have gone nuts about it, like it's the political equivalent of a killing spree. I'm planning a trip to the USA end of the week - got some filming to do for a project called - "213 things about me"... It's not about me but about someone else, a rather special person... I will reveal more soon.

"What happens next is ridiculously awesome"

Don't you just love it when you see those words or words like it on a Facebook post or other website? It's like the web has turned into a 1970's DC comic back page, full of amazing things like "X ray specs"

In fact, I parody the use of "clickbait" on my books Facebook page.

It seems we are in the grip of "amazamania" which is fantastically awesomely awesome. click here for more...

you didn't click...tell me you didn't.