a looking-glass book

witnessing

i was on melrose briefly this afternoon. as i walked out of the store where i was picking up a few things, i saw a police car across the street. it had been there when i walked in, 15 minutes earlier. but now, walking out, i noticed the officers were behind their doors, guns drawn and pointed at another car.

people were standing on the sidewalk, on both sides watching. i stopped and decided to gawk as well.

and nothing happened. for about 10 minutes, it was a standoff. i was mildly nervous standing just across the street - if guns started firing, surely i was in a prime position to be hit.

and yet, i didnt move.

after about 10 minutes, another car pulled up. blocking the traffic, he hopped out, covered the officers and began unloading the car. 1 after another, teenage girls piled out - 4 in all. there was no driver by the time i got there (or else the driver had moved to the backseat).

then another car pulled up, right after the last person got out. the driver pulled out a shotgun and cocked it. i thought the car was empty, so this was an interesting turn of events.

they evenually moved in on the car, cleared it and the trunk. (the trunk was a bit nerve-racking, watching them tap and move slowly. i was wondering what would happen if there was a bomb in it. but there wasnt.)

all the girls in handcuffs and being loaded in, i left.

so why post the story here?

well, it was very patholog-y - i would love to know the story behind all this. its not often you get to witness something like this, even in la. so id like to hear the rest of the story.

and then, id like to share what i saw. ive had some dicussions with kurt about the narrative end of my thesis. he thinks i need scripts. i disagree.

and this sort of cinched it for me - not every moment is going to be precious. but without recording all the time, you wont have the stuff like this. and the ability to pick what is important to you (the viewer) is significant. to decide you want to watch me eat dinner vs witness a police showdown - well, thats just personal preference.

it also proves (to me) that you do need several ways to mark moments. i knew this before, but there is a difference between a moment and a scene. between something that has happened and something that will.

just worth noting how the everyday (and not so everyday) changes when you have the data.