A New Collection of Stories~ (Disregard this)

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

(ed. note- this as well as all titles by the author have been pulled from publication and are set to be republished as handsome new editions under the imprint, Henbit 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. 

RIP Blog

If this is to be considered a weekly blog, just barely getting this out in the nick of time before it turns over to a brand new week on Sunday, midnight tonight.  Yet here it is.  There's still just too many unpredictable interruptions and other deadlines and focuses going on in my world that this blog just gets pushed to the back burner.  I am in the midst of all this.  It seems I can only commit timewise to places where I am booked.  Fuck it. It was a good thing, but not the best run.  RIP Blog.

An Account of Unjustified Treatment by Small Town Police

documenting the bullshit on and off since '11

weekly blog published somewhere between Tues. and Thurs. it seems, if the weary, sleep deprived author isn't falling asleep before typing.

A simplified account:

 This past NYE, wanting to avoid any potential drama or trouble, I stayed in and just watched the tube.  Concerning some past trouble, the last incident occurring many years ago, I've always been very wary about going out anywhere in my home state, especially small town Oklahoma.  Or anywhere for that matter.  If I've had a few, always cabbing or riding with someone else or walking or riding a bike. 
       I was driving one night recently in OKC and as a matter of curiosity and extra caution (paranoia), I bought a breathalyzer at CVS along with double A batteries.  It cost $50.  After a couple of beers, I blew into it and it read 0.00.  It didn't work.  I caught a ride to my friends' house a few blocks away and stayed on their couch that night.
        Several days later, I contacted the manufacturer and they told me I could send it in to test the calibration or get a refund.  What a nuisance.  I hadn't had a drink in days, so I had a glass of red wine with dinner and blew.  It was still bunk.  Feeling stir-crazy, I called my friend and we went to the Fox to watch the OKC Thunder play the L.A. Lakers, joking that we were out for the 10th day of Xmas.  We joined a group at the wooden round table that were celebrating a birthday.  The Fox closed at 11 pm, which was earlier than usual, so we relocated to Lola's Bar, not too far away.
        I got the craving for cigarettes, but they didn't sell them there.  The adjoining hotel was barred off, which used to be open back in the day with a vending machine.  I asked the others if they wanted some and took a couple of orders, telling them I was going to Walgreens, which used to be 24 hours or at least stayed open pretty late.  It is approximately 377 feet away.  I crossed at the intersection, walked up to the door and saw for sure that they were closed, then immediately crossed back at the crosswalk on the other side of the intersection, not a car or pedestrian in sight.  After crossing to the other side, headlights pulled up across the intersection and a police SUV turned right.  As I was walking along the sidewalk, the officer rolled down his window and hollered at me, as he pulled over at the abandoned gas station.  Well, this is from the report I wrote a couple of days later:

                                          POLICE HARASSMENT COMPLAINT           

            On the night of Jan. 3rd, 2018, I went to Lola’s Bar with a birthday group.  The vending machine was closed, so I walked approximately 100 yards to the Walgreen’s.  I crossed 14^th street.  The street was either completely devoid of traffic or nearly so, as it was near midnight.  I saw that Walgreen’s was closed and immediately walked back to where I came from, crossing the street on the other side of the intersection, no cars in sight.  When I had made it to the other side, a police car pulled up to the stoplight and turned on to Bradley St., where I was walking on the sidewalk.  Officer 1 hollered at me from his window as he parked his car.  I was about 100 feet from my destination already. 

            “Where are you going?” he yelled.

            “I’m just walking back where I came from,” I replied.

            He yelled at me to come over to that side of the street.  “What are you doing?”

            I explained that I was just walking to Walgreen’s to get some supplies and was walking back.  He said he could smell alcohol on my breath.  Almost immediately, another police car had pulled up directly behind him and Officer 2 had gotten out of the car.  I agreed that I’d been drinking some but was taking a cab.   He said that he could take me in on a public intox just by the odor.  Officer 2 spoke up for me then and said, “But he is just walking.”  That is when Officer 1 barked out the order, “Book him!” 

            The whole ordeal was less than 5 minutes long.  I was not stumbling through the streets.  I’d even had a taxi cab pick me up earlier before I’d even had a single drink, and I was taking one back home.  There is no proof, no written record, no reason given for stopping me as I was not even jay-walking.  Is it possible the officer had a camera with him and that it can be viewed?  There was little reason to contest it in court because even if it were won, there would still be court costs involved, and the time spent would be a waste.  However, as there was not a single complaint toward me or anyone that I was with the entire night, I believe this is an instance of an officer making an improper arrest, and I can only guess as to his motives. 

            Therefore, I am requesting that I be recompensed for $500 to quietly settle this.  This will cover the $160 fine and my time and trouble.   If this is agreed upon, I thank you very much for listening to an earnest request. 

                                                          Sincerely,

                                                        Brett Horton

Yeah, that's the report.  After 6-8 hours I was turned loose, advised by more than one party just to pay the fine because even if won the fees would stiff me.  I smelled crookedness all around and vowed I would go at this from a different angle, i.e. writing, speaking to the chief of police, which I did.  I went to speak to the captain some days later, and he told me what I already knew by reading up on the Oklahoma statute.  The police can pretty much do what they want.  It's very easy to get arrested walking in a small town, but I wanted to know the reason I was messed with in the first place when just minding my own business and not even given a field sobriety test or issued a written citation stating any probable cause.  It's a free country- the police are free to arrest you.

 - So more on this next time as I need to prepare for an art show for the month of February at Picasso's Cafe in OKC, which is the reason I am even here still lingering in this area after the holidays have dwindled down- the good news is I am free now and plan to stay this way. It was a minor incident that is over in the scheme of all things, but I am studying up on the legislature and other issues and will continue to write the fight. 

         
 

First Notes for 2018.

Waking up in the blustery cold icy feet morning, tired, achy limbs, heavy sagging eyes to go fight the loud honking traffic and be somewhere you don't love when the holiday is gone, writing, Ugh, blog- Happy New Year 2018! There will be warm happy times and beds will be soft and cush and always more laughs.

Here, I am just checking in, getting back in the ring.  I'm not gonna rattle off a laundry list of resolutions.  I know the kinds of things I want to do and just will hope and try to end this year with more $moolah in the bank account than now.  The Workshop of Me's are cranking it out in overtime mode right now.  There's an art show I'm giving for the month of February at Picasso's Cafe in Oklahoma City, which I am now preparing.  I'll send invites out soon.

There's also a new album of songs almost made, a collection of short stories I have to put together and just self-publish for now in private.  I just want to print them on paper and get them off the digital format for now and it's actually cheaper to publish them in a professional paperback form than a typical computer ink cartridge.  I wrote about this once before, how a $20 cartridge was out of ink by the time it was about page 200, but I printed almost 400-pages that cost about a $10 paperback.  That's def one reason to self-publish.  Also, I watched my director's cut and am making a few quick cuts and making another long, raw version, then will make it into a part 1 and 2 with intermission then maybe shave off a good 30 minutes of fat- many versions because I'm just not sure.

So all these 4 personas are currently at work.  Sometime I might drop some of them and just be mainly one for a while.  There are other things that keep getting pushed on the back burner that I want to get cooking more soon.

This blog is just ramblings on the down low for whoever happens to stumble upon it. I don't push it too hard and not even sure how to do that without being a pest and that doesn't work anyway.  Certainly, social media doesn't help get the word out to anyone in regards to this stuff because it seems to float in stagnant water and it asks me for money to boost the post.  Out of curiosity, I checked out a Facebook ad, and I accidentally ran one.  I was charged $20 from Facebook and never even hit a "Run ad" button. Sheeit.  I noticed the blog had hundreds of more readers than normal, supposedly.

I'll post this and read it later.  I also noticed my book here is available on Barnes & Noble now.

Check back soon.

Bottom of the blog plug:

(alternate cover)

This Here Blog~

Sigh.  It's a challenge to maintain a regular blog.  Not sure if I really have it in me.
There's simply too much I'm doing all at once.  Too much going on and not enough
going on- which I have already said, but true.  I need a workshop of Me's.  There's
always the option to just drop all plans and go sit by the river and whistle and whiddle a
stick and twiddle thumbs and pleasantly drink in the flowing sights and not give too much
of a darn- just simple survival and knowing when and how to laugh about it all.

Here is a link to a writing piece, Dogs of Kathmandu, published the other day in the winter issue of the L.A.- based literary journal, the Writing Disorder.  Have a looksy.

Happy New Year, Of Course

Movie Update

I'll toss out two of these in one day since I've been gone from here for a month.

Regarding the movie production as of late, as of last night, there is NOW a "director's cut."  It's nearly 3 hours long complete with credits.  I haven't even watched it yet.  There might be an extra part I will add to it (which will only take a second to add to the edit), provided Bill will shoot it and send it to me.  We made a green screen (green bed sheet in his music store). 

There may be an abridged version for the short attention span of the masses, might shave off about 30 minutes or so, we'll see.  This still isn't even the whole story.  There's another one to make in order for the whole thing to be told.

There's always a disparity between filmmaker me and writer me.  Sounds about right.

Last month, there was a test screening of a rough version at Flags, the English Pub in Mianyang. I raced the clock to have it ready and at the 90 minute mark it went to "INTERMISSION."  But it was a long intermission, I said, because that was it for a few months.  There were no credits.  I thought about releasing that version first, no credits, just an indefinite intermission.

It made me think of Whitman's Leaves of Grass, how the original edition only contained a picture of him with no mention of his name.  There were only a ltd. amount of printings, which he self-published, but still, it found its way into reviews of prestigious publications and baffled people.  He continued to rework that and build onto it for the next 40 years until it was a bulky work, eventually putting his name on it. I like that story.

Below is a trailer with some color treatment.  I'm still figuring out how to present it, but I will try to screen it somewhere with a private link to online friends.

Merry Xmas,

Brett

FCT Trailer 2 from Red Carpet Walkin' Co. on Vimeo.

www.bretthorton.org

Checking in, mates~

This blog was playing hooky here recently.  The ambivalent blogger was responsible.
While craving a schedule, something like a weekly show of sorts, a regular routine is just not natural to the chaotic swirl of the blogger's disposition.  Though he loves peace and quiet more than about anything these days- no, peace and music.  It's the clock, engagements, etc. that incessant ticking and tocking of time, that race against the watch, that accompanying stress, that- it all just drops.

The blogger will now stop referring to himself in the third person and talk in his normal vernacular voice- perhaps normal abnormal voice.  Yes, it's me. I'm writing. About 3 times or more I've gone for it: a weekly spot with consistency. Yes, I love that addictive reliability of something like a daily comic strip or nightly or weekly anything, but there will inevitably come a point in time when I won't know what time it is, or even what day of the week it is, and I'll be so wrapped up in something at that given moment that I actually just completely forget all about it, until later.

There are no deadlines unto myself, so why make them?  There will be plenty of schedules to adhere to without my own doing myself in.  Tickets, though, airplanes, buses, trains, etc., I always make them in time.

A blog, though, is a wonderful electronic public journal.  I want to be everywhere always and yet don't want to be anywhere at any given time nor hardly have many people know where I am sometimes.  I don't want to cage my words, actions or thoughts into a time slot, yet there is a coziness there that I appreciate... I want an audience across the world yet I want solitude, too.  Cognitive dissonance, ha.

What is the point in this blog is somewhat like asking what is the point in life.  That question didn't even end in a question mark, was that question even a question, or more likely, a rhetorical one.
It's true that the blogger of Notes From The Studonym (Stew-donym) has a proclivity and affinity for nonsense, yet also digs straightforward direct prose.

The colors of the spectrum look good together.

Frankly, it is about time.  There is too much to keep up with- doing it all is a great nearly impossible juggling act and so it's bound to topple over and frequently, so the only thing is just to keep picking up the tricks when they spill and seeing how long you can prolong.

I'm just trying to figure out a blueprint for this blog that would work.  Right now, I'm thinking I'm keeping it going as a weekly thing again, still (somewhere around a Tuesday and a Wednesday) but will probably disappear on a sabbatical of sorts for some weeks here and there throughout the year.  We'll see how many of these I do next year- I'm making the rules for it, anyway.

Happy Holidaze Around the Globe! 

A Reasonable Request~

This is regarding a situation that happened in the summertime.  There was no mailing address for United Airlines listed online, and the website only had a customer care message box where no one replied.  I told myself I would avoid flying with them as much as possible from here on out, but I came across a good deal and decided to take it, knowing I could speak to an agent in person at the checkout counter.  She told me they had no mailing address for letters and that it usually takes them 90 days or so to respond. The 90 days is almost up.
        My insider told me the best thing to do regarding any issue is to post it, tweet it, etc. because they will want to clear up the bad press.  If anyone has any similar story or agrees with me, feel free to comment or forward this along.  If this is remedied, it will be updated.
        Fight it all one step at a time.

                                                                                                                                  8-29-17

Dear United Airlines,

            RE:  eTicket #:  0168600919051

            I am writing in regards to an airline ticket that was purchased by Wei Lin from Mianyang, China.  This is concerning Flight UA5478  from Los Angeles to San Francisco on 8-1-17, which then boarded on 8-2-17 from San Francisco to Chengdu, China on Flight UA9.  There was a 13 hour layover in San Francisco and since we had traveled the west coast, we thought it much easier for her to simply board the plane in San Francisco and return straight to Chengdu, China.

            However, she was charged $360.82 to change the ticket. She had called ahead to notify the airline not to cancel her ticket if she didn’t board in L.A.  She had already purchased the ticket, and we believe this was not a cancellation or a change that merited the charge fee.  This was a quick and effortless fix on behalf of the airline, and then there would have been an open seat available for sale from Los Angeles to San Francisco.  After she was charged the fee, it only took the sales agent less than a minute to make the necessary correction.

             I hope that you will agree with me that, in all fairness, this circumstance should have been deemed negligible and that the charge should have been inapplicable.   Everyone I have informed of this situation feels strongly the same way.    Therefore, I am requesting that this fee of  $360 be reimbursed.  That would be tremendously appreciated.  Is the airline willing to reimburse the fee of $360, please? 

            In this envelope, I have included a copy of the receipt.

            I look forward to hearing your response.

            Regards,

            Brett Horton

Just a Quick Note

Left Chengdu, China at 7:20 pm, Sunday, Nov. 12th,
arrived in Los Angeles, USA at 7:30 pm, Sunday, Nov. 12th

Haven't been on the computer all that much lately.
A lot has happened and not much at all.  More soon. 🎵

Post-in-the-works-

This has slipped my mind as of late, as I'm preparing for a test screening.
Now, I will read and sleep and possibly update this very post on the morrow.

Post fright

Um, uh, I'll check back next week.

😓😱😉

🍻

Somehow, This Happened:

A serendipitous day.  On a whim, with the common aphorism about insanity in mind, about,"Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result," there was no reason for something to work that never had before, but it was for some reason attempted again, and it was successful.  This is in regards to a PC-partitioned external hard drive cooperating fully with a Mac, which it did.  It could both export and import, and this was a pleasant surprise. There must have been some application discreetly installed that also happened to facilitate this.
          Then, a helpful fellow from Ireland immediately showed up at the perfect time (when another issue of compatibility had presented itself, and the next step remained to be seen) to offer technical assistance with a much-needed program that is not in the hands of every ordinary layman.

          The official terminology of this is a teaser. Here is Teaser # 2:

         

Typos and Trailers~

Recently, I noticed that my original published book, Two Too Deep Fools, is now out of print.  That's OK with me for I've been hatching a plan to publish a 2nd edition with a different company, with a different cover, and perhaps a color version, as well, as the original manuscript has much color in it and is a bigger size.  So maybe two new versions including a smaller, black and white more economical copy.
           That version had a very significant typo, in my opinion, a typo that detracted from the meaning- I mean, it was so much about wordplay, in the first place.  Even when I proofread it many times and insisted on new versions, somehow, this typo still occurred.  Fateful typo.  I foresaw typos happening against my will and my perfectionist side even dealt with this by a form of psychoanalysis in a piece in the very same book:  "typo's all right."
             I saw some typos here in this blog and went back to revise, then hunted another one for a while but it eluded me.  I shouldn't care so much. Formatting is a bitch. 
            Speaking of words, I'll revisit earlier writings now and then and come across something that has an idea that is buried, yet there was something there when it was written, arrived at through the labyrinth, and it is still there, yet has somewhat hidden itself even to me.  Usually, I can make it resurface and reveal itself.  I can still be cryptic to this day, but through the years I've also amassed a style that is much more straightforward. Plain talking prose.  I just like to mix the ingredients and experiment like making word soup.  That goes for other mediums, too.
            Speaking of soup, tonight I believe I will experiment with some potato soup.
            Below is the next trailer.  Very busy been I do this.  (Like when I'm learning a language and mixing up the grammar, as yet unlearned of the grammar rules, but they still understand)

           

Trailer 3 from Red Carpet Walkin' Co. on Vimeo.

New Movie Coming Soon (er or Later) To a Screen Near You

I'm happy to say that there is a new feature-length movie that I have produced by my own Red Carpet Walkin' Co. entitled the Fortune Cookie Teller.  It is part of the Alexander Anonymous canon, which is really just a nom de plume for yours truly, I'll admit.
       It's not claiming to be a conventional movie by any means, so I highly suspect it's not for just anyone- that brings to my recollection Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf-

"..So that's it, thought I. They've disfigured this good old wall with an electric sign. Meanwhile I deciphered one or two of the letters as they appeared again for an instant; but they were hard to read even by guess work, for they came with very irregular spaces between them and very faintly, and then abruptly vanished. Whoever hoped for any result from a display like that was not very smart. He was a Steppenwolf, poor fellow. Why have his letters playing on this old wall in the darkest alley of the Old Town on a wet night with not a soul passing by, and why were they so fleeting, so fitful and illegible? But wait, at last I succeeded in catching several words on end. They were:

MAGIC THEATER ENTRANCE NOT FOR EVERYBODY

I tried to open the door, but the heavy old latch would not stir. The display too was over. It had suddenly ceased, sadly convinced of its uselessness. I took a few steps back, landing deep into the mud, but no more letters came. The display was over. For a long time I stood waiting in the mud, but in vain. Then, when I had given up and gone back to the alley, a few colored letters were dropped here and there, reflected on the asphalt in front of me. I read:

FOR MADMEN ONLY!"

      Hopefully, my movie is something more than just madmen can enjoy, or if not, hopefully it's the good kind of madmen.  It looks like there will be a few test screenings soon, in the city of Mianyang, where it was mostly filmed.  It is still going through some of the editing process and little bits are still being filmed, but a rough cut should be done by the end of the month.
         In other news, I saw the absurd story of McDonald's and Rick and Morty and the super limited edition Szechuan dipping sauce. Anyone else see that?  The obsessed cartoon fans crowded McDonald's around America and threw a fit when Micky D's ran out of the sauce to the point where police were called.  Szechuan is the Cantonese spelling of Sichuan, which is the province where I spend time at in China.  There's plenty of McDonald's here. I wonder if they have any of that sauce?
         I made several teasers and trailers for the movie last week, and I'll post them eventually, but right here is the first little sneak peak: