An email conversation between June and October, 2001 with my best friend
ROB0630
hi paulo. thanks for the message. you really got my mind working. i've got some notes, but i'm on a coin operated computer so i must be quick and if i get stop abruptly you know why.ok. i really liked your ideas. i've got some to add.so you've outlined an atagonist, i think. what if the protaganist is a homeless guy, whose friends are dying and no one is listening. until death #20: the body is found sitting on the doorstep of someone prominent. He is holding his own head in his lap with 20 carved in his forehead, and his mouth full of "spare change".
of course the antagonist was born poor, because poor people who become rich usually
hate the poor. you and i have talked of that many times.
then the ant. gets caught.
then the ant. and the pro. duke it out in the media, with the ant looking respectable
and the pro. looking dirty and stupid. the trial would take place in the media, with
the ant. winning.
we could follow both of their lives.
ok. i'm out of time. those are my ideas for now. i'd love to see a homeless
protagonist.
wanna work on this with me?
fifteeen seconds and counting.
must use time.
oh oh.
love rob
>From: "Paulo Ribeiro"
>To: $%%^&^@hotmail.com
>Subject: Re:
>Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2001 03:41:46 -0000
>
>Dear Rob,
>
>I miss you too.
>
>I'd like to come out and visit you. Life just seems to be in endless
>transition but getting nowhere. Right now, I'm really fed up with
>work. I'm seriously contemplating just going back to the phone room
>while I focus more time to things I'd rather be doing.
>
>I think I might take a bartending course. I think I might enjoy
>that.
>
>Haven't moved in with Toni yet. Looks like August. Me and Toni have
>decided to quit the dog-walking thing. We haven't told the people
>yet. That whole idea was crazy to begin with. Who am I to be
>babysitting dogs? I've never even had a dog before.
>
>I went to a really good concert - Radiohead. It was a better show
>than I expected from a very contradictory rock band.
>There's a hip hop album I just got that's really good. "SNEAK
>ATTACK" by KRS-ONE. It's a bit high on the street moralism but also
>reflects a a focus on MCing and DJing reminiscent of pre-gansta rap.
>
>Right now I'm just kind of enjoying the weather and taking things
>easy. (Too Easy).
>
>Hey! I want to start shopping our script around to get feedback. I'm
>gonna give a copy to Norman (I saw him at an audition and he
>mentioned it cause earlier I tried to send him an email with our
>script as an attachment and he never received it.)
>
>I haven't seen much of anyone lately. Spending most of my time with
>Toni, though I bump into SFU people at shows. Dylan and Tyler do
>this thing at the Havana and the Cavern where they do a show every
>couple weeks. I've seen a couple of them - Not bad. Tyler's really
>grown as an actor I think. He seems more generous than I've ever
>known him to be on the stage.
>
>I haven't been doing much research on poverty either, but I have
>done research on crime and the justice system. I've also been
>putting together a scrapbook of newspaper articles cut-outs from the
>last few years: amazing how many stories I have on transit and
>community development concerns, the whole creme de la creme thing
>over proposed Arbutus line and the transit strike itself. Anyway,
>that gave me an idea - I'll get to it in a minute.
>
>I've been thinking about what kind of story this is.
>
>So there's this guy. He's rich. Works in an office. Has a wife. No
>kids. Yet.(Recently married). He is very successful, a self-made man
>who came from modest and ambiguous origins.
>He's also a serial killer. In the course of every normal business
>day, closing a deal, commuting to a meeting, business dinner's and
>lunches, he passes by the destitute and feels the urge to kill.
>The media and press don't pay attention at first. The police regard
>the first 7 or 8 deaths as unrelated.
>The death toll goes by unnoticed because the entire city's activity
>has been affected by a complete transit strike.
>
>Gradually the death toll mounts. After, let's say 20 victims, the
>killer carves the number of which victim the person is. Then it
>explodes in the press.
>This guy with the good job who's also a serial killer of the poor
>sets about using the press to win sympathy for his cause.
>
>That's a scenario I've been throwing around, because for me the
>interesting thing with serial killers is how they work the media and
>with media already complacent on poverty and the murder of these
>poor people; the lack of public outcry over these deaths justifies
>him and somehow in the end the serial killer has made some kind of
>sadistic point that is right in the eyes of the media-driven mob
>mentality.
>
>I also think there's a connection between Darwinism and "progress"
>(as in technology) that this guy might be into. I see him having all
>kinds of digital toys.
>
>ANYWAY, let me know whazzup?
>
>Take care in T-dot.
>
>Paulo
ROB0713
hey tiger. very quick message. it's friday afternoon and i'm leaving in one minute to go up to muskoka with andrea to visit miranda and scott. i'm sending you revisions. i'll send you a more complete e-mail (with homelesss ideas and possibly writings) next week. take care i love you. rob
PS. make any changes you want and send it
>From: "Paulo Ribeiro"
>To: rLKJLKJLJK@hotmail.com
>Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 03:12:35 -0000
>
>Yello!
>Ow R ya?
>It's nice n hot here, summery last night was drunk at the beach till
>4 w/Billy, Heather, Nneika And Bruce. Ah summer.
>But I gotta buckle down.
>Any ideas on the homeless protagonist in the serial killer thriller?
>I've been waiting for some of your writing to arrive I just kept
>thinking he's got some juices stirring in that lil noggin of his and
>he wants to check it out and see where it leads him.
>I've decided to get in shape. Again. oof. Good.
>Mentally physically I've been craving sharpness that feeling I had
>when I was doing a lot of physical training, I don't want to have a
>fuzzy head anymore.
>Toni and I will be living together when these people move, which we
>still don't have an exact date on, and they're in the fight with the
>landlord and haven't paid rent for the last two months. (And aren't
>going to).
>Guess what Rob, Im turning over a new leaf. I've decided to become a
>cop. I think law and order and preserving the peace is a noble cause
>worthy of my talents, I could bring a heart to the force, fighting
>for the cause of good. Against evil.
>No. That was a lie. I was just talkin out my ass for that last
>paragraph.
>I still haven't resigned from Customer Service but I'm going to ask
>tomorrow.
>
>That's my life.
>
>Love ya with all a my heart-O
>RobOOO-OLOOOO
>Love YAAAAA withAAAAAA allAAA my heart-OOO
>RobOOO-OLOO
>withAAA allAAA my heart-OOO
>RobOOO
>LA LA LA LA LAI LAI LAI LAI
>LA LA LAI LAI LAI LAI LAI LAI LAI LAI ,
>LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
>
>byebye
>nosepickin fuschnicken fudruckin fingerlickin crackerjacker
>wisecracker
>
>As Ever,
>
>Paulo Ribeiro
ROB0723
Howdy! I'd love for you to come visit, so i'll keep my eyes open for cheap fares. i love your ideas, your little treatment you've sent. I don't have ideas on all of them right now, but i like the idea that the medeia dosen't pay attention until a particularly gruesome murder. What if the body was left on the front lawn of a celebrity so that the media could focus on the celebrity's feelings, their journey, more than the actual victim? I also like the idea of the murderer becoming a folk hero. Perhaps this would happen after the climax that you have briefly mapped out.
I have an idea for a character scene for the antogonist. I imagine the story starting with a murder, then him returning home. He's in a good mood.
he turns on the tv with a remote control, and clicks from channel to channel. We see
many images of pop culture, from George W to madonna to all those computer commercials
proclaiming the revolution is here.
he grows bored. he switches on the multi-dvd player, switching from movie to movie.
with a different remote control
he turns on the stereo, from radio station to station. then cd to cd.
he leaves stereo on, he turns tv back on. then back to dvd.
back and forth back and forth.
then he turns on karaoke machine and starts singing "like a virgin."
then he turns on a digital camera, so that he's on the tv, maybe singing with madonna?
images are crossing over, so that all these differnt forms of media are crossing over
and blending into each other, images of the news, of war, of him singing, these media
images are blending together with his real life at this moment. maybe we see images on
the tv of his past murders, mixed together with celebrity news, etc.
he is a conductor of this po mo symphony, playing five different remote controls like
pianos, etc.
Yeah, so that's my idea.
good luck and congratulations on shifting point's next project. sounds exciting. if i
can help with ideas or anything i'd love to. tell me how it goes.
ok. talk to you soon.
love rob.
>From: "Paulo Ribeiro"
>To: &*%^*&^@hotmail.com
>Subject: Re:
>Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 22:11:45 +0000
>
>R-Dawg!
>
>No time to talk to much but to say Hello. Muskoka was fun then was
>it? Hey I'm thinkin about maybe visit you so keep your eyes open for
>some "cheap fares".
>
>Also good news: Shifting Point Theatre has recieved a $3000
>commision to create a theatre/"message" piece for SFU's fall
>orientation. We have DRAFT 1 due in 12 days: Crazy!
>
>Oh, check this out: www.metcalffoundation.com. I think they have a
>bunch of grants for emerging artists doing work in Ontario. Maybe we
>can apply and I can fly out there and we can do a piece out there?
>
>Oh and another thought: I saw an interview with John Walsh of
>America's Most Wanted tv show on Fox. He was talking about the
>Chandra Levy case and how there have been 10-12 women reported
>missing from that same area who are still missing. John Walsh's
>theory is that Chandra Levy did not run away as Gary Condit and
>others have supposed but that she was killed by a serial killer.
>John Walsh then berated police for not treating these "missing
>persons" investigation more seriously.
>
>He then talked about what serial killer Ted Bundy said after they
>caught him and sentenced him to death. An interviewer asked Bundy:
>"Why did you kill these people, why all women?" And Bundy replied,
>"Because its so easy to get away with it because no one really cares
>about women in this world. That's how I gor away with it for so
>long."
>I think that is the same as our serial killers motive:
>
>Our serial killers hypotheses: He hates poor. Society hates poor
>too.
>Our serial killers test: He kills poor. Society doesn't report it.
>Therefore society doesn't care.
>
>His theory that no one cares anyways, is compounded when even after
>6 or 7 murder/deaths it's still not in the news.
>
>Our protagonist has to face a real battle:
>1.) I think he has to become at first like a P.I. No one knows why
>this bum is near the crime scene, talking to people, taking
>pictures, etc. It becomes personal for him when someone close to him
>is killed. He starts to hunt the serial killer.
>
>2.) The media does a 180 because someone was killed in a really
>gruesome way and now everyone in the public is obsessed with this
>story. Our protagonist's efforts to alert the police and public are
>now revealed in the media, turning our protagonist into a curious
>public hero.
>
>3.) Our protanist is close to discovering the serial killers pattern
>when at the next murder, it becomes clear to the protagonist that
>the killer has now made our protagonist his "trophy" target.
>
>4.) Our protagonist is on a race to hunt down the serial killer
>before he gets hunted down. There is a cycle of deaths that will
>culminate in his own murder and our protagonist is close to
>determing what it is. Something else then happens in the media to
>distract everybody, then the media disappears, leaving behind only
>our protagonist and antagonist in a game where no one knows who's
>winning or losing.
>
>Ok that's enough for now.
>Love & Peace.
>
ROB0813
yo pee lo! Other Links
how's it go
hope you ain't hittin too high
or rollin too low
just gotta send you a little letter to say hi. hope everything is going well with you. there were so many bugs here last week. i thought armageddon was truly upon us my brother. i couldn't walk down the street.there were bugs in my mouth bugs on my feet bugs were bein swallowed
to a funky beat
bugs on my shirt and bugs in my pants
i was shakin and shuckin
like i was doin a dance
bugs in my armpits
and bugs up me ass
but not for long brother
cuz i gave em the gas ...
...face, that is.
this is where i'm at. i've ben working on the script, kinda. i've been studying
screenplay theory. i want this to be good. as good as can be. i am in no rush. next
what i want to do is write character outlines. i'll send you those. then, when i feel
i'm starting to know these two, i want to come up with one sentence , our theme, which
will help guide us through this process, through their story. so that's where i'm at.
i'll keep you updated.
it was the equivalent to the greek festival in my neighbourhood this weekend. i had a
blast. dave (friend from vancouver) and i went on friday night, had a good dinner, then
sat on the street and drank beer. they closed off about twelve blocks, and there were
beer gardens on the street, so it was a good time. on saturday night andrea and i went
down there and ate fabulous desserts. we're getting along really well right now, which
is so nice. i love her lots.
so now it's monday, i'm at work, and i don't wanna be. i wanna be swimming. remember
that time you and i and jodi (?) went swimming in the ocean? that was a good time.
that's what i want right now.
you and me mr ribeiro
makin lots of denero(?)
flying high under the ocean
like we was two aqua sparrows ...
i just feel like rhymin today. anyways, i think i'll getta groove on here. but get back
to me, and i'll be in touch soon love ya
mr dobalina
mr rob dobalina
ROB0913
I concur. Other Links
Violence can not be rationalized. Ever. And absolutely, a violent act cannot be rationalized as revenge for a previous violent act. Let's murder the murderers! A society reorganized to fight terrorism becomes a terrorist society. I Agree! I too will run for the hills. See you there. Thank you for all the good thoughts. It is time, more than ever, for reflective thought. We need dissent, thoughtful dissent, to muddle through this jingoism. It is a scary time, and weak souls like Chretien and Bush are not going to save us. We will save ourselves. Oh oh. Starting to "jingoize" myself ... Anyway, regarding our play. Please revisit it. I sent you some changes a while back. I'd love to see revisions from you. there is a script reading contest out here, for a comapny called Scriptlab. They do this annually. I'm interested. Please let me know
what you think. Oh, i'll forward you what i have for the contest. The deadline is
Oct.31. Also, do you have a new phone number? If you give it to me, I'll call you.
ok good. talk soon.
love rob
>From: "Paulo Ribeiro"
>To: &@%@&#%^s@hotmail.com
>Subject: Re: end of the
>Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 19:59:14 +0000
>
>yo that Nostradamus quote was a hoax.
>
>You're right about the domestic situation. This will give the cops a
>blank cheque to do whatever they want.
>
>Public acceptance of security cameras will rise, this TV paranoia
>feeds itself, most North Americans have seen the twin towers blow up
>replayed five or ten times an hour. The tribal mentality is setting
>in.
>
>The only thing I think we'll never see again is internment camps,
>other than that, people have already started acting like its World
>War Three.
>The disinformation campaign is well under way. There has been some
>good reporting within each entity; 1 reporter asks if the U.S. will
>reconsider its foreign policy towards poor nations, hotbeds for
>nationalism or religious revival. Another reporter adds the US has
>backed corrupt regimes for years who abuse the people...
>Overall the whole media thing is so ra ra ra in the US right now.
>I'm very afraid, the question of the draft was brought up in US
>congress. It was even brought up today in the Commons, by the
>Canadian Alliance.
>I'm very afraid of things getting out of hand; Don't play with
>matches in a keg of gunpowder - The whole Middle East could be
>totally destablised if this thing gets as big as Bush says - there
>mission is to go after "all terrorism" - what the fuck is that? They
>don't even have a clear military objective, The Americans are
>talking like they want to die in the cause of revenge. "Years and
>years"- I hope they just mean espionage, can you imagine all NATO
>Including us fighting a war for years and years, in a country that
>has never been defeated by outside invaders- this will be worse than
>Vietnam, it already looks like a similar situtation.
>I just hope it's all talk.
>And if it is all talk, I just hope it's not 1984, where they use the
>constant threat of "war" to justify no freedom, even though the
>enemy keeps changing.
>
>I'm waiting to see it a next move is coming, already I see signs the
>middle East is hunkering down for a regional war with non-state
>plays as well as state players, making alliances and fighting on all
>sides, people doublcrossing others, etc etc, other threatening
>powers join in, another domestic attack, whatever the source it
>doesn't matter - modern life itself is a conduit of terror - from
>now on I'm afraid we will be recircuited to fight terrorism, hence
>we will become a terrorist society. If that happens, or a draft, I'm
>gonna "Run to the Hills" .
>
>Of course, this whole thing could fizzle into a diplomatic situation
>where countries hang over the suspects and some kind of "justice" is
>meeted on them. I'm hoping that's what will happen, in my opinion
>it's the best scenario among likely scenarios.
>
>Ok, this all makes me want to revisit our play
>
>bye
>
>>From: "ROB BAKER"
>>To: *#&^@*#&^@hotmail.com
>>Subject: Re: end of the world?
>>Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 09:50:33 -0700
ROB1014
a sleepover sounds delightful
i'm pretty sure i'm comin back to van for christmas. my parents said they would buy me a ticket. my mom just had hip replacement surgery so i'd really love to see her. well i'd love to see everyone, but she'd be extra special ...
how's your new place?
Is it in erica's basement like you planned? you two must be decorating it delightfully. i can't wait to see it.
i can't wait to live with my lover.
andrea's going to sfu in the spring. so i'm going to be out here all by my lonesome for three and a half months. Boo hoo. she's going to be working with barbara bourget so she's excited. i'm excited too, to really forge a life here by myself. i think we will move in together when she gets back. that's a long way away though.
i'm taking a second city class and i love it! ginette goes there as well, but i haven't
seen her yet, just her name on the wall.
I'm sticking our play into that contest i told you about. probably tomorrow. i made
some litttle changes, just words, no action.
james has been out for two weeks staying with his sister. my goodness the partying. we
drank for three days straight last week and it almost killed me. i'm still recovering.
i've been smoking cigarrettes. only when i've been drinking, but still ... i quit!
right now! no more! whew.
it's been good to see james. i spent thanksgiving with his family. that was ok. he has
three nieces, and the littlest one was just amazing. I loved her. she was sucha
cautious little thinker. just beautiful.
so clear your time (if possible) around christmas. i really want to talk to you about
our play. I think we HAVE to put it up, for our mental health. it would be a regret of
mine if i died without seeing it put up, or putting it up ourselves. we just gotta.
what are you working on right now? or is it down time? please fill me in.
ok. i love you. say hi to toni. take care.
rob
>From: "Paulo Ribeiro"
>To: !@*&^!*@&@hotmail.com
>Subject: vancouver
>Date: Fri, 05 Oct 2001 01:24:45 +0000
>
>
>when you comin to Van?
>
>have to have a sleepover my new place
>
>mynew place is here
>
>where areyou
>
>where is James??????
>
>Where's Mary?????????
>
>Did she come? I thought she was coming in on the red eye flight.
>
>James said she'd probably make it okay.
>
>'member EXPO 86 : "TRANSPORTATION & COMMUNICATION" was the theme
>------------>>>> They weren't kiddin were they>>>???
>
>or were they?
>
>if it's a joke,
>
>then what's the punchline supposed to be.
>
>Don't ask me
>
>I wasn't there man
>
>It wasn't me
>
>Don't look at me
>
>Yes I know my name's Abdul but don't look at me
>
>Yes I know my name's Mohammed but don't look at me
>- Mohammed's the most common name in the world
>
>And in South America it must be Hey-zuus; You know I once worked
>with a guy named Armondo or something from El Salvador - he was
>huu-ish; that;'s what he told me:
>
>A: I'm a huu.
>
>ME: A what?
>
>A: No, No mang, a huu.
>
>ME: What?
>
>A: Not a what mang, I'm a huu, I'm a huu
>
>ME: Who are you?
>
>A: A huuu
>
>ME: A who?
>
>A: Jes, I'm a huu
>
>ME: You are a who?
>
>A: Jes, Jes, I'm a huuu
>
>ME: Are you from who-ville?
>
>A: What? I'm from El salvador
>
>ME: But you're a huuu
>
>A: Jes, I'm a huu
>
>ME: A who?
>
>A: Jes, I'm a huu, a fucking huuu, mang -
>
>ME: I'm sorry, what's that?
>
>A: A huuu
>
>ME: A whoo?
>
>A: No
>
>ME: You're not a who?
>
>A: I'm not a who, I'm a huuu
>
>ME: A who?
>
>A: No, a huu, a fucking huuu
>
>ME: I'm sorry
>
>A: Here
>
>(He shows me his necklace. It's a Star of DAVID)
>
>A: See.
>
>(He shows me his tattoo on his arm. It's a minora.)
>
>A: See.
>
>ME: Oh, you're a Jew.
>
>A: Jes, Jes, I'm a huu, you know huu??
>
>ME: Yes, I know it, I know it, You're a Jew
>
>A: Jes I am, I am a huuu. Now juu know.
>
>ME: So you're not Catholic?
>
>A: No.
>
>ME: Wow.
>
>
><< message3.txt >>
