{"id":10724,"date":"2012-05-04T12:00:06","date_gmt":"2012-05-04T16:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/?p=10724"},"modified":"2012-05-04T12:00:06","modified_gmt":"2012-05-04T16:00:06","slug":"sleepwaking-blindsighted-and-a-little-bit-of-movies-in-the-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2012\/05\/sleepwaking-blindsighted-and-a-little-bit-of-movies-in-the-night\/","title":{"rendered":"Sleepwaking, Blindsighted, and a Little Bit of Movies in the Night"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zyv19bg0scg?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"600\" height=\"407\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"smalltext\"><em>[Video: one of the best cinematic commentaries on ignoring (and paying attention to) the wrong things turned 71 the other day. Above, its trailer &#8212; complete with telephone commentary not actually in the film&#8230; and not showing its title character for even a single second.]<\/em><\/p>\n<p>From <em><a title=\"whiskey river: 'Solar,' by Thomas Centolella\" href=\"http:\/\/whiskeyriver.blogspot.com\/2012\/04\/solar-on-gray-day-when-sun-has-been.html\" target=\"_blank\">whiskey river<\/a><\/em>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Solar<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On a gray day, when the sun<br \/>\nhas been abducted, and it&#8217;s chill<br \/>\nend-of-the-world weather,<br \/>\nI must be the sun.<br \/>\nI must be the one<br \/>\nto encourage the young<br \/>\nsidetracked physicist<br \/>\nworking his father&#8217;s cash register<br \/>\nto come up with a law of nature<br \/>\nthat says brain waves can change<br \/>\nthe dismal sky. I must be the one<br \/>\nto remind the ginger plant<br \/>\nnot to rest on the reputation<br \/>\nof its pungent roots, but to unveil<br \/>\nthose buttery tendrils from the other world.<br \/>\nWhen the sky is an iron lid<br \/>\nI must be the one to simmer<br \/>\nin the piquant juices of possibility,<br \/>\nthough the ingredients are unknown<br \/>\nand the day begins with a yawn.<br \/>\nI must issue forth a warmth<br \/>\nwithout discrimination, and any guarantee<br \/>\nit will come back to me.<br \/>\nOn a dark day I must be willing<br \/>\nto keep my disposition light,<br \/>\nI have to be at the very least<br \/>\none stray intact ray<br \/>\nof local energy, one small<br \/>\nbut critical fraction<br \/>\nof illumination. Even on a day<br \/>\nthat doesn\u2019t look gray<br \/>\nbut still lacks comfort or sense,<br \/>\nI have to be the sun,<br \/>\nI have to shine as if<br \/>\nsorry life itself depended on it.<br \/>\nI have to make all the difference.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(Thomas Centolella [<em><a title=\"Amazon.com: 'Views from Along the Middle Way,' by Thomas Centolella\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Views-Along-Middle-Thomas-Centolella\/dp\/1556591616\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<a title=\"whiskey river: 'Eyesight,' by A.R. Ammons\" href=\"http:\/\/whiskeyriver.blogspot.com\/2012\/05\/eyesight-it-was-may-before-my-attention.html\" target=\"_blank\">and<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Eyesight<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It was May before my<br \/>\nattention came<br \/>\nto spring and<\/p>\n<p>my word I said<br \/>\nto the southern slopes<br \/>\nI&#8217;ve<\/p>\n<p>missed it, it<br \/>\ncame and went before<br \/>\nI got right to see:<\/p>\n<p>don&#8217;t worry, said the mountain,<br \/>\ntry the later northern slopes<br \/>\nor if<\/p>\n<p>you can climb, climb<br \/>\ninto spring: but<br \/>\nsaid the mountain<\/p>\n<p>it&#8217;s not that way<br \/>\nwith all things, some<br \/>\nthat go are gone<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(A.R. Ammons [<em><a title=\"Google Books: 'A.R. Ammons and the Poetics of Widening Scope,' by Steven P. Schneider\" href=\"http:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=QXf59eT65-0C&amp;pg=PA77#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<a title=\"whiskey river: Anne Lamott, on using your one precious life\" href=\"http:\/\/whiskeyriver.blogspot.com\/2012\/05\/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to_03.html\" target=\"_blank\">and<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Your problem is how you are going to spend this one and precious life you have been issued. Whether you&#8217;re going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(Anne Lamott [<em><a title=\"Google Books: 'Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith,' by Anne Lamott\" href=\"http:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=DKn30tFTqnYC&amp;pg=PT140#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Not from <em>whiskey river<\/em>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>The Invisible Girl<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; width: 450px;\">The girl who was invisible knew things. She knew that everyone else was starring in a movie, and her job was to watch. Just watch it. What else could she do? Her skin wasn&#8217;t even real. It was only the idea of skin. And like all ideas, it was magic. Sometimes it became transparent. Even the birds flew through it, and bullets. Other days it was liquid. When she swam, she was the water. Every now and then she turned into a tree, so heavy and still she couldn&#8217;t move. Instead she felt the sap run through her veins and fill her with shadows and song.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; width: 450px;\">But there were rules. Always be quiet was one. Don&#8217;t let on was two. You might be seen then. And not forgotten. Not that her parents meant to forget her when they dropped her off at school, the tennis courts, the local swimming pool. At the end of the day she watched as parents came in station wagons, and one by one the other children went home. Some were hugged by their parents, and some were smacked. Every day a red-haired boy left sobbing after he refused to get out of the water. She didn&#8217;t envy any of them really. She liked the feeling of being alone, listening to the crickets and watching the moon rise, long after the pool and playground emptied. She liked listening to the lifeguard talk on the phone to his girlfriend, saying <em>I will be there. Yes. 10:00 sharp. I love you<\/em>. She had heard those words before. Her father said words like that every day. She was glad they weren&#8217;t true. She&#8217;d rather stay there forever. Let the world carry everyone else away.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>(Nin Andrews [<em><a title=\"Google Books: 'Sleeping with Houdini: Poems,' by Nin Andrews\" href=\"http:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=iDNOBvmMSOAC&amp;pg=PA16#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;and:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Trailer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The guests are floating in the lobby,<br \/>\nwalking but also gliding to the front desk<br \/>\nthen away, checking in, checking out,<br \/>\nmuscular souls adorned in cotton,<br \/>\nwool, and rayon, chewing the future<br \/>\ninside their heads, slicing the air<br \/>\nwith ironed pleats, avoiding the camera<br \/>\nat every turn so as, so as to get it right<br \/>\nthis time, which is the first time.<br \/>\n&#8220;First cut, best cut!&#8221; the director shouts<br \/>\nsince this is also a silent film for the deaf<br \/>\nand therefore everyone. His aim<br \/>\nis to get the cast to see what they&#8217;ve<br \/>\nbeen missing, to disregard the very sounds<br \/>\nthat they don&#8217;t hear to begin with,<br \/>\nbut would notice immediately<br \/>\nif they were gone. See how they glide<br \/>\non the ether above the floor.<br \/>\nThe insouciance, Lord. The insouciance!<br \/>\nThey are all here in the magic of the set,<br \/>\nevery soul in the guise of a guest<br \/>\ngoing about her business, a rendezvous here,<br \/>\nas assignation there, the solitary sipping<br \/>\nat the bar. Someone striking appears<br \/>\nat the door. The rain outside beats down<br \/>\non the streets with terrible force until all<br \/>\nyou can hear is the roar of the sky as it passes<br \/>\nabove, and then below, on its narrow tracks.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(Chard deNiord [<em><a title=\"Poetry Foundation: 'Trailer,' by Chard deNiord\" href=\"http:\/\/www.poetryfoundation.org\/poem\/243482\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;and:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Thirteen Writing Prompts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>1.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Write a scene showing a man and a woman arguing over the man\u2019s friendship with a former girlfriend. Do not mention the girlfriend, the man, the woman, or the argument.<\/p>\n[&#8230;]\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>3.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Choose your favorite historical figure and imagine if he\/she had been led to greatness by the promptings of an invisible imp living behind his or her right ear. Write a story from the point of view of this creature. Where did it come from? What are its goals? Use research to make your story as accurate as possible.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>4.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Write a story that ends with the following sentence: Debra brushed the sand from her blouse, took a last, wistful look at the now putrefying horse, and stepped into the hot-air balloon.<\/p>\n[&#8230;]\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>9.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Think of the most important secret your best friend has ever entrusted you with. Write a story in which you reveal it to everyone. Write it again from the point of view of your friend. Does she want to kill you? How does she imagine doing it? Would she use a gun, or something crueler and more savage, like a baseball bat with nails in it?<\/p>\n[&#8230;]\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>13.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A man has a terrifying dream in which he is being sawn in half. He wakes to find himself in the Indian Ocean, naked and clinging to a door; a hotel keycard is clenched in his teeth. Write what happens next.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(Dan Wiencek [<em><a title=\"McSweeney's Internet Tendency: 'Thirteen Writing Prompts' (complete list), by Dan Wiencek\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcsweeneys.net\/articles\/thirteen-writing-prompts\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[Video: one of the best cinematic commentaries on ignoring (and paying attention to) the wrong things turned 71 the other day. Above, its trailer &#8212; complete with telephone commentary not actually in the film&#8230; and not showing its title character for even a single second.] From whiskey river: Solar On a gray day, when the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","h5ap_radio_sources":[],"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[247,1393,53,251,713],"tags":[1070,1443,2045,2212,2977,2978,2979,2980,2981],"class_list":{"0":"post-10724","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-ruminations","7":"category-whiskey-river-runningaftermyhat","8":"category-movies-media","9":"category-poetry-writing_cat","10":"category-humor-writing_cat","11":"tag-mcsweeneys","12":"tag-writing-prompts","13":"tag-citizen-kane","14":"tag-anne-lamott","15":"tag-thomas-centolella","16":"tag-a-r-ammons","17":"tag-nin-andrews","18":"tag-chard-deniord","19":"tag-dan-wiencek","20":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kZSG-2MY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10724"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10744,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10724\/revisions\/10744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}