Kip Austin Hinton

just went to a good party. we hung out, talked to lots of people. LA people, good people. and friends old and new of San Anto. all doing interesting things, independent film and music. we hung out, laughed, danced, Amalia, Lisa, and i talked about tampons and ate chili and an entire bowl of moras. so at that party, bought jewelry for mi reina, some of it made by Ana. Amalia put on the new earrings and a necklace. so impressive. Maria Elena talked to us about some of the poetry scenes here. and hair dye. met Branda and Gustavo, very cool filmmakers, we're going to meet up with them in 10 hours, at NALIP orientation. Amalia and i told them about the cat/forrest gump movie i made, and the John Lawrence documentary i'm working on now. gave Daniel a ride to Boyle Heights after. a little abuela next door to him was outside, locking (or checking the lock of) her gate. walking so slow. she glanced at us with uncertainty. it was very late, abuelas should be in bed. i went to a few parti...

i guess it's because i've been watching too many movies about relationships. or that most movies are specifically about relationships ,and i've just been watching too many movies. whatever: recently the screen seems to invade my imagination. too often. i thought maybe i was a character from Closer . only in a few scenes, not the whole thing. "there's always a moment." in my film class this quarter, we read shit about the overwhelming sense of realness in film. how and why it can surpass literature, visual art, stage, and tv. nothing can manipulate as effectively. it controls time and perception (you cannot go back and re-read a page at a movie theater - but i'm re-reading a book stanza now). And yet, love knows it is a greater grief To bear love's wrong, than hate's known injury other forms often suggest to us that "we are there," in a moment. but the experience of directed gaze at a photo or painting, this is limited to 1 sense, and we ...

[new. a dark country song.] - you sell me short when i look away you hedge your bets cut short your stay you take the loss cast off the port you cash it in you sell me short - i'm the one worth waitin' for, babe all the rest ain't worth a damn i'm the one can make you happy, babe i aint lyin' 'bout who i am - no deep dark secrets i'm coverin' here's my cards for all to see it ain't a perfect hand ah ain't a perfect man but i'll be perfect as a man can be - ----------------- but you sell me short when i look away you hedge your bets cut short your stay you take the loss cast off the port you cash it in you sell me short - i see you cuttin' yer losses, babe before we finish the first round i feel you ready to resign when the cards are still facedown - ain't suggestin' i never faltered but ah never done you wrong some show their love with screams and shoves ah show my love in a song - ---------------- still you sell me short wh...

In the Tall Grass went to see a documentary shown by UCLA African Studies. about the Gacaca -- the traditional forum of Rwandan community justice, which has been modified to process tens of thousands of war criminals. pronounced "ga-chach-a." basically, the genocide ended (or slowed, depending on your definition of genocide) in 1994. there were at least 700,000 murderers and war criminals to deal with, almost all of them Hutu. the government had been destroyed only a year earlier, in civil war. there was no possible way to arrest, hold, feed, or provide trials for them all. the government was barely able to keep order in the countryside. and not even a huge system like america's or russia's could handle an influx on 100,000 prisoners, nevermind 700,000. even if they could afford to imprison almost 10% of the population , how could a government with a million homeless refugees justify giving food and shelter to criminals? so the new unity government sent teams out to t...