Wake up Writers!

I'm disappointed in the writing community on Twitter. Why aren't writers talking about the illegal abduction of Rumeysa Oztruk? Plenty of writers don't want to get involved in politics. Okay, don't get involved. But really, c'mon. This isn't just about politics. This is about freedom of speech. This is about a PHD student writing an article and getting abducted on the streets of Boston by ICE because the Trump Administration disagreed with what she wrote. I don't know about you, but I feel that this is horrifying for writers. Imagine that you wrote a book or an article that the government disagrees with, and they grab you, and put you in jail. (image by: DG-RA)

Please don't be naïve, and say what does this have to do with me? Yes, this student was on a student visa, but her visa had not expired. And shortly before her arrest, they abducted Mahmoud Khalil from his home for practicing his freedom of speech. He had a Green Card. So, a valid visa holder, a green card holder, and soon they'll come after the citizens. (image by: Nondas Sapidid). 

This administration is not going after criminals on visa or with Green Cards. Oh, no. They're going after PHD, and Graduate Students. They're going after free thinkers, and scholars. They're going after you. Yes, you, writers!

Am I expecting too much from the writers on Twitter to speak up about this? Writing is not just about scene set up, show don't tell, dialogue, editing and will my book sell? It's about much much more than that. It's about having a voice and exercising that voice. I can't imagine living in a world where the government takes away my freedom of speech. Because now, not only I have to swallow all the obvious corruptions, I'm not even allowed to live under the "illusion" of democracy. It's like being in jail, and they give you a piece of old dried up moldy bread, and then they decide that even that's too much, and they take it away from you. You have nothing. Am I supposed to shut up, and not talk about it? As a writer, I might as well not exist. What's the the point when all I'm allowed to do is write nonsense, pretending that all is good when my guts want to explode. I don't know about you, but I cannot stay silent. (image by: rawpixel.com)

And may be no one gives a s--t about what I write, but at least I have practiced my First Amendment rights. And this too goes for writers living in other so called "democratic" western countries. The loss of our freedom of speech is worse than the Bubonic Plague, the Spanish Flu, the Bird Flu, or the Corona Virus, and will eventually effect everyone. Except that there will be no vaccine. Stay silent, and soon you will have lost all your freedoms. It's fine if you don't want to get on the streets with signs and banners. But the least you can do is to write about it, and make some noise. (image by freepik).

 

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. 

—Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Artistic Freedom

My cousin and I planned to go see A Complete Unknown at a theater in Santa Monica next to the Elephant restaurant where we ended up having espresso martini afterwards, and discuss the movie. It's on DVD already, but we wanted to support the disappearing movie theaters. If you are a creative, such as a musician. a writer, an actor, an artist, or ..., you should see this movie. It is difficult for artists to thrive unless they succumb to what is expected. This pressure on artists oftentimes kills their creativity. (image by KoolShooters)

Speaking from a writer's perspective, we are squeezed to fit a mold, and any departure from that mold renders us untalented—such as "show, don't tell," or "your book must belong to a genre or it will not succeed," and so on and so forth. Writers who are different are not accepted by the elitists, the literary society, and the mainstream editors. The critics, reviewers, and readers jump all over the writer if their work does not fit in the status quo. And this is no different in the music industry. (image by Mohamed_hassan)

Bob Dylan, portrayed by the actor Timothée Chalamet, is a young hungry musician, who at the beginning of his career, does as he is told to make a name for himself. Even so, he is direct, and has no problem telling people off when they're in the wrong. As he gains fame, he realizes that being famous isn't all that it's cut out to be, and the strain of fans following him everywhere, touching him, and never giving him a moment of peace starts to wear him down. He keeps going back to his ex, Suze Rotolo, portrayed by the actress Elle Fanning, because he feels at home when he is with her. (image by Porapak Apichodilok)

When he cheats on Rotolo with Joan Baez, she leaves him. Dylan is attracted to Joan because of her beauty, talent and fame and because they are both musicians. However, Joan Baez has a different vision for the two of them, a vision that later Dylan realizes they do not share. She wants him to continue in the same path, and he wants to do something different. He wants to write new songs and play his electric guitar which gives off sounds that people living during that time period were not familiar with and did not enjoy. It ends up with the sponsors, the crowd, and Joan hating him for wanting to vary his path. (image by Yabee Eusebio)

The next day, I was talking to someone about this who said, well, he was getting paid for his work, and there were certain expectations from him. And I get this. It is a business, the sponsors want to make money, and the audience wants to get their money's worth. But here is the thing, some people embrace fame and do as they're told. Others, like Bob Dylan, think that they want fame, but once they get it, they realize that it isn't all that it's cut out to be. Bob Dylan wanted to express his creativity and not be defined by other people's desires. What was interesting was that after everything blew over, Dylan went on to do amazing work, and his electric guitar music, and his songs captivated the hearts of audiences everywhere. The sad part was that he lost his girl because she couldn't compete with the likes of Joan Baez, and his fans. Suze knew that she would always take back stage in his life, and left him. (image by Alena Darme)

This movie brought back so many memories. My brother, and our two childhood friends used to play Bob Dylan and Joan Baez songs all the time. And some of the musicians portrayed by the actors in the movie are so familiar that I felt as though I had stepped back in time to when I was thirteen. Dylan and Baez were from a different generation, but we all enjoyed listening to their records. Yes, records and not sound tracks, CDs, and downloads. (image by Elviss Railijs Bitāns)

I highly recommend this movie, especially if you are a creative, or are familiar with their music. And although this movie has been out for quite some time, if you are able to, see it at the movie theater, because sometimes you run into the strangest people, and have a good laugh. My cousin and I were seated towards the back, and this lady seated five rows down yelled at us for speaking too loudly. Mind you, the movie had not started. There were not even commercials on the screen. My cousin and I are generally not loud people. My cousin bickered with the lady, and then turned to me, and said, this isn't a spa, which made me laugh. Later when the movie came on, the same lady was singing along with the musicians on the screen. And I almost went up to her to say, "Hey, be quiet. I want to listen to their singing and not to yours." So, there you have it. The joy of attending public venues. (image by Nadin Sh)

Astra Lumina and caffé Bene 

Having forgotten all about the Oscars, I had plans to celebrate my friend's birthday a week early. On a freezing night with painful winds, we headed out to South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes Estates for a light show called Astra Lumina. Their website describes it as a walk among the cosmic stars. It seems that many exhibits today are focusing on light, music, and their effects on our senses.

Couple of things to note: 

1. You have to either sign your email releasing them of any liability or sign on their tablet once you get there or they will not let you in. 

2. They have one of those annoying airport security thing that you have to pass through. 

3. If you have any type of mobility or vision issues, this venue is not for you. It's pitch dark, and the trail is uneven. 

We were lucky that it was the Oscars, and there weren't too many people there. When they told us to follow the yellow lights, I felt as though I was in Wizard of Oz.

Take a look at the above video and the picture that follows it (a screen shot of the video). When we were there, we did not notice that image until I loaded it on my laptop. Also, when you first watch the video, there are only trees. The image appears later. I'm guessing it's an illusion created by light. But how come the other videos on YouTube, don't have that image? Weird!

Well, the temperature wasn't below zero degrees, obviously. But hey, I'm from L.A, and anything that falls below 60 degrees is freezing.

You see those lights on the ground in the above video, they make you feel dizzy when you're walking, specially in the dark where you can't see the bumps and lumps on the trail. So here, my friend and I were talking about how you need to be there to experience it, because videos are one dimensional and you need all your senses to take in everything.

Again, have a look at the video above, and the photo below it. My friend and I did not see that object and it wasn't until I got home that I noticed it on my laptop.

Almost time to leave. We were complaining about the tablet that they made us sign. It didn't work properly, and they kept saying sign it even though I had made several attempts as the wind blew my hair into my eyes, and I was getting irritated with the whole thing. I mean, if it was so important for them to get our signatures, why not make it a point to sign in, or agree in the email instead of putting it in fine print where no one would pay attention. 

There were a few other things there that I didn't cover here. It was good, overall. Would have been nicer if it was warmer. But this was not the highlight of the evening. You will see it next as we began looking for a place to have tea.

Google gave us Caffé Bene as a nearby place in Torrance. Neither of us had ever been there. We got there an hour before closing time, ordered Chai tea latte which was meh, and went to sit down.

Now, most places don't close at the exact closing time. They stop serving, but they let their customers hang out for a bit. Not this place.

At precisely 10 p.m, a school bell rings and a song comes over the speakers: it's time to go home...thank you for coming by...It's time to say goodbye...goodbye...see you again. In all my life of living here and travelling, this was the first for me as I watched everyone line up in an orderly fashion and leave. 

After getting over the initial shock of the school bell, the song, and everyone doing as they were told, my friend and I had a good laugh. It reminded me of when my niece was four, and her mom would sing, "Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up," as the two would go around the house cleaning up the mess my niece had made. If you're ever in Torrance, you must try this café before closing time. It was quite an interesting experience.