The deluge has finally struck, after days of humidity building, and the rain is coming down in solid sheets, making a wonderful melodic percussion on my roof and windows. I tried to attach the umbrella to my video camera but it was impossible to film in this kind of rain and I got soaked within about 1 minute of being outside. So, I’m hiding indoors again. At least it means the air will be clear and light later on, which should make for some good sunset skies I could do some filming in.
We did a group activity this week, which involved a visit to the casino, Mohegan Sun, which (like most casinos in America) is run by the native American Indians, and its built on their reservation. This gives rise to some weird rule-flouting, like smoking indoors, and (obviously) gambling, which is mostly illegal here. The interior is purposely mind-bending, an enormous circular cavern with a pathway that seems to lead around it but veers off in places, and true to cliché, there are no clocks, and no sign of natural light. They even bring you beers at no charge when you sit at the slots, which gives the impression you are being lulled into a suitably numbed state necessary to blow $50 without thinking. We all bet about $15, which didn’t last long, although one of our party, Matt, managed to win $19.50. Its pretty depressing really, especially as its all made out in faux-native furnishings and ‘sculptures’, including several animatronic wolves. Something that made an impression was during the fireworks and band playing (up on the roof, after the truly impressive sun had set) that hardly anyone was drinking, and there were no beer pulling stands, unlike what you would see in the UK. It seems like Americans get their kicks from food, rather than booze.
Other than that fun, its been work on. I’ve been filming every day, and uploading every day, which gave me the idea of doing this as short term film project, which is only online and tells a kind of story over the course of a time period. Its funny how being here, to start with I just wanted it to be a record of every day, mundane activities, but as time wears on, I’ve been more tempted to experiment with more bizarre, unusual and ‘gothic’ tableaux, I suppose just to see something different visually. And also, it amuses me. But it also becomes like a story- everything starts off normal, and then, through being in solitude in the woods, stuff starts going a bit weird…the resident becomes a captive of the woods and their imagination. I have decided to call the project ‘The Resident’, to reflect this- it’s a record and parody of the residency in nature experience.
Suddenly the end seems in sight, but I’m trying not to focus on that. There is still a lot to do, and incredibly I’ve not been back into the Devil’s Hopyard properly, which I definitely want to go before leaving. There is also the cemetery where the Willeys – a local family whose sad story ends in multiple murder and suicide- are buried I could visit, this will probably give my project an even more sinister turn.
