AUTHOR.CALHO: If I didn't write it, I would be hitch hiking cross country to Maine and then Alaska in that order. While taking frequent breaks to spread leaflets. And sit in diners. And write on things because I wasn't at a computer. I may still do that in a few years. Writing this also helps me forget about and better understand the limitations of being human, and keeps me busy enough to allow me no free time to burn the world down.

THEMATIC.ABOUT : Collapse often. The things that hold people together and hold them apart and scatter brains. The things that make thoughts go boom. The things that ooh and aah and [expletive deleted]. Sometimes poking around the margins where responsibility ends and the only one to look to is the Original Equipment Manufacturer and say "but, I already pressed 9 for more options and the menus are exactly the same. Can you just replace it?" The answer will be: "please hold." Sometimes hanging out in dark corners. Sometimes following the train tracks. Looking for ways out and ways in and all the while sharing the things seen and heard and done and drawn and written and scorched and healed and teased and caged and dreamed along the way.

6/8/06

the forest for the trees 06/08/06

Subject : the forest for the trees... people still do that?
Posted Date: : Jun 8, 2006 7:48 AM

i conducted an interview of a co worker last month and then converted the interview into a piece of non-fiction for a class. i drafted the piece and then re-drafted the piece and then reinterviewed and then let it sit for a couple of days. then i edited the piece again and then redrafted the whole thing.

not only was the piece recieved to a near standing ovation from my professor, but i personally felt like it was one of the better things i'd written that year. it was long, but not overly so. it had twists and turns. it was not self promoting nor biased. it was brutally honest and uplifting. this piece of biographical non-fiction is so good i am going to submit it to some minor non-fiction journals and see how well (or poorly it does). this piece was art.

at least that was what i and others thought for the past month until about ten minutes ago. the co-worker whom i interviewed and promised to remain true to in giving him a copy of the piece just told me what he thought of it. this is what he had to say:

"okay there were a few things, first of all you should delete all of the quotes because those quotes don't sound anything like me. secondly the books i read are not on any middle school book lists. they are deep and dark works by world renowned authors. thirdly im not gay because its kind of insenuated in there that i am, but im not."

those were his exact words. there were more. in fact he went on about the books and the gay thing for quite some time before he remembered to harangue me some more about the quotes. where he got those problems from i have no idea.

in the paper i say that we share the same sexual preference and im not gay... so i guess he's just a homophobe.
in the paper i say that im jealous of how well read he is and that he didn't just pick books off of an obscure list for the sake of reading obscure authors like other people with no taste in books often do... so he pulled that book shit outta of two or three words i said in the beginning of the piece to set up the revelation of his deep knowledge.

in the paper i quote him word for word... its not my fault if he doesn't believe he actually sounds like that or not. he said the words. i didn't make them up. and its not like i just stuck on a speech impedement or bogus accent either.

in short it is clear to me that he has completely missed the 99% of the paper that is nothing but positive toward him. the man is ugly. i did capture that faithfully as well... but he didn't have issue with that at all. he only found problems with the 99% that was true, honest, accurate, and positive.

yes, people still miss the forest for the trees. im not making any of the changes he asked me to.

i am going to make one change though. his name.
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