TV Gold and imaginary friends

Craig has this phrase, “TV Gold”, for television segments in which people cry. Since he introduced me to it, I can see it all over the place, especially whenever old people are interviewed. War veteran recounting his experiences, has to stop because he’s choked up? TV Gold!

Sometimes, though, it works in reverse: we cry. TV Gold is cheap and bad when it’s manipulative, but sometimes your heartstrings can’t help but vibrate in sympathy with a truly genuine human moment.

Or not human, as in the case of last night’s final episode of Africa. In the closing scenes, David Attenborough is down on the ground with a blind baby rhino that wildlife conservationists are trying to help so it can return to the wild. It seems that moment sent golden ripples as far as the BBC’s broadcast waves could reach.

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I’m hating the paper in this sketchbook, but it’s almost finished. (The innards of the next one are already sewn and glued.) For the longest time I’ve wanted to have an “artist’s journal” full of my work, but it always seemed such a huge amount of effort to fill a book with words and images for no purpose””can’t sell it or use it””which, I suppose, makes it an artist’s journal, both in the sense that it’s art (i.e. not for a commercial purpose) and a journal (for development and exploration).

Now I’ve done one, I’m really happy with it, and I can see the value in the process””and in having someplace to record ideas and images. What’s it for? Well, that’s a good question, which brings me around to another bit of this morning’s thinking and journalling.

I think I’ve mentioned here that I’ve got this cast of characters that I’ve doodled and carry around in a wee box who represent aspects of myself. So, essentially, I’ve drawn the voices in my head. (We all have ’em, yet we’re frightened by talk of other people’s!)

This morning I talked to “Old Walt”, who represents””I’ve not really articulated this, but I guess it’s “writing for the right reasons.” Deep, soulful writing. So I had a chat with him. Crazy, perhaps, but it was really useful.