A New Collection of Stories~

Here is the new book, currently available from Lulu Press:

This is a collection of short stories, novelettes and a few personal essays, including the novella, "The Truth Of Liarsville." In here are contemplations of a small town going down the drain in the middle of nowhere, lamentations of deadend jobs, the recipe for a new mixed drink, homage to a straying cat, ruminations of the effects of social media, the crippling American college debt system, meditation on a hangover, descriptions of backwards small town police abusing ludicrous legislation, a once lost column, a gold heist and portrait of one of the last vaudeville shows in America that takes place in the rain forest of Alaska. The stories range all over, from New York to New Mexico to New Orleans to Nepal to Oklahoma to Portland to San Francisco where people are struggling to find a room held at bay.

Happy Indie Bday, U.S. of A.

I hope besides all the usual celebrations, like the fireworks and grilling and all that razmatazz jazz, which are genuinely good things, this time has you celebrating your freedom in a way where you will use it.  Use it to build and change for the better in fitting with your version of the American Dream (and we all know everybody seems to have their own clashing ideas of whatever that is.)  Use it, though, and remember those who aren't as free and always act where you believe there can be a better and necessary change, if you can.  It's not always so easy to do.  Build it together.
         Not to make America great again, but greater than it's ever been.

         Enough of this soap box, anyway.

         This blog's current status is just once in a blue moon now, as we're attempting to broadcast a short reality/variety/travel show called "Reality, Sort Of," 2 times a week, Tues. and Thurs.  We've made it for 11 episodes now, and the next one is tomorrow.  It's a spontaneous show of life that makes itself, seen through the eyes of my friends and I.
          Here is a link to one of the episodes (UPDATE 2019: this show is currently on hiatus):   
      

Update on the indie movie named the Fortune Cookie Teller~

Looks like several weeks have whizzed by again. This is once again turning out to be a blog that is a "weekly blog" perhaps in an alien civilization where one week is a much longer span of time.  Makes me think of Kurt Vonnegut's Tralfamadorian calendar. I just read his bio, "And So It Goes." It was a page-turner for me.

Anyhoo, I hired myself to put subtitles to a nearly 3 hour movie, so my fingers have been typing on a keyboard enough lately.  I'm reformatting English and Chinese text, learning new tricks and words along the way. OK, I didn't hire myself. I'm a slave driver to myself, only getting a return of intrinsic value.  For me, the whole process is, in my estimation, a 2 week full-time job- nothing, really.

So, concerning the Fortune Cookie Teller, here's the behind-the-scenes lowdown:

In its current state, the Director's original cut, it is a whopping 2 hr. 53 min.  It's been split into 2 parts, each approx 1 hr. 30 min. each.


Parts 1 and 2, Version 1, is done. That has English subtitles just whenever a non-English language is spoken.

Part 1 of Version 2 is now done. That has English and Chinese subtitles throughout the entire thing. Part 2 is now in the works.

For the cast and those involved, including various friends who would like to watch it and offer any comment, I am planning to have a worldwide private screening for the original cut as soon as the next part is done.  Stay tuned for a Vimeo screening somewhat soon. I should be able to hook you up with a password to a private link.

Also, I just released an album online, under my name: Brett Horton- Airs
along with other stuff going on, so, yes, I do get behind on the blog.
I'll leave the album and more for near future posts, when it reaches more of the
online stores and streaming sites.

You can type it in places like Spotify and Googleplay and soon at other places that I don't
ever use, honestly. I won't even post the direct link here,  I trust you can find it if you want. I don't need to hold your hand for you to find a way to rock;)

Enjoy Life, the Spring has arrived, Amigos and Pengyous,

BH

P.S. For all of you saying, wow, that's a longass movie, especially for an indie movie like this, you're right.  Ned Toro and the editors, though, are considering shaving off an hour or so and turning it into one flick, at least for any possible film fest submissions.

Another possibility that has been discussed (which is the easiest route) is simply releasing it online, perhaps even as a series of chapters.

Please visit and like the new page: www.facebook.com/thefortunecookieteller

The rest of the arrest:

This is an excerpt from a piece I just wrote.  Just fed up here with the general, all-around fucked upness surrounding us all... 

           from Walking In Small Towns In America

So if you are walking anywhere in Ponca City and have had a drink, beware of the police, or anywhere in Oklahoma and God knows where else, for that matter.  It is an Oklahoma statute that officers can arrest anyone with alcohol on their breath for a public intox charge at their discretion.  There is no field sobriety test that needs to be given, under the law, and also, an officer isn’t even required to have a probable cause to approach someone walking.  The statute has no standard BAC level in regards to public intox, so technically, a person with one or two drinks can be arrested.  No proof needs to be given.  A person can be arrested for public intox in a bar.  Officers don’t carry cameras.  If it’s contested in court, it’s just word against word, in most cases.

            This is yet another reason that stifles a walking culture in the cities of America and is encroaching on pedestrians’ freedom to walk.  Recently, a pedestrian walked from a bar to Walgreens, found it was closed and immediately walked back. This pedestrian was almost back to his destination, walking on the sidewalk, when two police cruisers who had been watching the place pulled to the side of the road and hollered to him.  No reason was given for why they approached him and there was not even a written citation given.  By other accounts, the pedestrian had not been stumbling, swaying or falling down.

              The fine was $160 and 6- 8 hours in a jail cell.  He was advised to pay the fine because 90 % of these cases are lost, according to the booking officer.  Even if he were to win, the court costs and time taken would’ve not been refunded.  The pedestrian’s friend stated that he was once arrested by a Ponca City policeman after having two drinks in a two-hour timeframe, walking through a parking lot, then went to court and won, but still wasn’t refunded the court fees which added up to nearly the ticket. If one is to be proven innocent, the state should refund the citizen all court costs, at the very least.  This is just one example.  Another story involves a senior citizen who was arrested on suspicion of a DUI.  It turned out that he was below the limit, but not until he’d already spent an uncomfortable night in jail, and in the end he was never refunded the impoundment fee for his vehicle. How much money has the legal system taken in this way?  Where is the complete justice in the so-called justice system?

              This pedestrian went to file a harrassment complaint to the captain of the police and finally learned that he was questioned because there was a call about a suspect that was violating a protective order who had left on foot from Timbers Apartments.  However, all the officer needed to do was check the pedestrian’s ID, quickly find out he wasn’t the suspect and just politely tell him to go on his way and be sure to take a cab home.  This overreaction by police officers has resulted in a society where the citizens don’t trust the law enforcement and there is no need to be criminalizing walkers in a place where people drive too much anyway. 

            It is this reviewer’s opinion that some state legislature should be reevaluated to allow for reimbursement of court fees regarding improper arrests and that there should be some sort of official stipulation concerning public intox arrests.

           

                                                                   ***

            There are many things that need to be changed in this country called America, and this issue concerning a minor incident involving alcohol is nothing in scope compared to the major crises that are now facing us (and have been for a long time!)  Still, it concerns basic civil liberties and is indicative of a fatal flaw in our system.  There is definitely something wrong in this country, going deeply wrong and everyone must work for change wherever they see they can make even the slightest difference.

            As far as this goes, I spoke to a lawyer who suggested it didn’t hurt to try to make it right.  He said this kind of racket has been going on for years, especially with the Native American population who commonly walk.  He said the only thing that could possibly be done is to change the law. I could visit city hall and find out how to put the issue regarding the statute on the ballot.   He was reluctant to involve himself with a complaint regarding the officer, due to paranoia about angering these small town police. 

            After I’d scheduled an appointment with the captain of the police, there was finally a written report from my two arresting officers.  The Captain said that Officer 2 stated he was never speaking up for me, that instead he was just commenting that I was walking and in the report claimed I was swaying.  This runs contrary to others’ reports, including a very sober friend of mine who has been around me many times while drinking and says she has never seen me like that.  I’m not saying I’ve never swayed before…  I’m not claiming to be perfect here.   A relative of the said officer who I happen to know stated that one time that officer punched a teenage girl in the face for no reason, back when he was a teenager. 

            Of course, I would’ve been stunned if I were returned my money.  In no way was I expecting it, but it was just the principle.  Actually, I used the paper as notes to talk with the captain in person and no form was ever filed.  After a discussion about the current laws, I saw, what I’d known all along, that it was futile in regards to that situation, but I had at least gotten the details.  To be fair, the captain gave me his card and offered to let me ride around in an officer’s car some night, if I wish.   I am not out to denounce all police officers, but I do believe there are a fair share who are overstepping their bounds and there needs to be changes in the system.

            This little story here is like a prequel to Ray Bradbury’s great short story, The Pedestrian.  I sent an article about this to the Op Ed section of the small town newspaper, of which I am a former employee in the circulation room, and around to various papers in the state, but I doubt if any will dare to publish an article criticizing bored police officers in small towns where not much serious crime is happening.  Instead, if you’re walking in a small town in America in the daylight for the purpose of a destination, you will be viewed as eccentric or poor rather than healthy and sound, and if you’re walking after dark, you will be a suspect.

Some night on Earth in time (February, actually)

My friend and I were talking.  "We're so damn goofy," he'd say.
Then I would counter, "But we're very serious."
A moment of contemplative silence, then buffoonish laughter.
This recurred at different points of the night.

I just felt like saying this now. No, not trying to expound this into
some greater point.  I'm not turning this blog in for a grade.  Though
if I did, I'd secretly hope for an "A" but I might more likely get
an, "eh?"

Seeing how this is going, concerning my "weekly" claim, it seems
to me that I would get a definite late mark.

Oh, and I forgot to tell you, I wasn't around for a bit because I was
suspended for tardiness and absences.  How does that work?  You get
in trouble for not being somewhere you don't want to be so the punishment
is not being there more? I'll take it.

Honesty is my favorite policy, though, so I must say I'm obviously kidding.

Today I went to the post office.

"Need to blog... Don't really need to blog at all."  There's no deadline here.  Almost 4 weeks of winter silence and here I say hello.  Put a big quotation around the description "Weekly Blog."
       There's a collection of stamps and postcards acquired from the past few years and so I thought I'd send some around and also a couple of packages.  I still use old school mail, tried and true, now and then.
       Blog can be a release, blog can be pressure.  Each minute that passes when you're not typing a worthy word can be another minute gone, and for what??  An open letter to the public about anything.  Yes, I do love to keep in touch and love this free, unlimited way of communication, but often I feel out of touch with the physical, breathing world when fiddling too long with a digital device.
       What can I say?  I don't follow anyone's blog- well, I did follow a couple of friends', but theirs are currently inactive, I believe.  I regularly read blogs, yes, when I type in a topic of interest and it takes me somewhere and I check out what's been written on the subject and get lost surfing.  I have a new album that I'm about to release any day now, and it takes up a lot of time and energy, so I am not always in the mood to regularly post.  Yet, I haven't gotten rid of it.  Sometimes I become post-happy because I truly delight in sharing with the world. 
       Doesn't it seem silly to constantly post everything about yourself, though? That is the norm now, too, I know.  It seems like people aren't around their true friends enough in the real world and are seeking a fix of validation in the digital world.  Yet, I'm not gonna bitch. It's fun, too.
       This is the "silly season" for my blog, I suppose.  Do you ever look up words you already know just to read the meaning of them?  How could that word possibly be explained?  So I came across:

                                  PHRASES

the silly season:  high summer, regarded as the season when newspapers often publish trivial material because of a lack of important news.

Seems like silly season is year-round these days... 
I am proud of the students of this country making a stand, though.

BH

Reincarnated Blog~

Back from the dead, sort of.  I was never intending to keep this blog down under for good.  It's back in some sort of weekly form again, yet never settled on a day.  It's a test of endurance, for one.  An experiment for my own personal amusement and some others, as well as other purposes, perhaps. 

Facebook, I've had it with it.  I love it as a way to stay in contact with people whose numbers I've lost, etc, and many post some good stuff, but I think the algorithm has me blacklisted, either because I criticized FB before and/or because I experimented with an ad before.  At any rate, my posts never show in feeds anymore.  It's definitely not a good way to get the word out about anything that's important to me or any type of creative work or play.  It's a huge advertising machine that is playing with people's narcissism and a popularity contest-for-profit.  Of course, there's so much potential there and I do love the good things about it, and I understand that things need money to survive, but I am ready for another platform that is more beneficial at least for musicians and the like.  Zuckerberg did state that FB was having problems and he was dedicating this year to fixing Facebook, and I hope he does. 
          So below is my eulogy that I posted on my page that not a single person saw.  I aim to be back to the blog next week.  Just squeezing this in as unexpected events keep transpiring to keep the blog down.  Tomorrow, if I can make it, I will be at a funeral in another state and then at the airport in the next state to pick up a visitor from another country then back to where I left, 6 hours on the road. 

3 days and still reeling about the news of Jarrod Chisum.
He was on the scene with me, and us, through so many pivotal
moments, not the least playing bass with us during my first ever
public performances as a band (though he’d been playing in bands
since he was like 10 years old!) and the first paying gig when I
was 15.  Extreme ups and downs, lots of tragic yet definitely lots
of comic, too- some of the funniest moments ever with him. 
So many stories- really, a legendary character.  I’ll say, we’ll
celebrate your spirit and remember the good times. RIP, Pal.