Capt SpaceBat

The name of a mythical (i.e. made-up!) Indie Rock band from London in the 1990s.  Contracted to provide the soundtrack for the forthcoming book, movie, , musical, mime show and online experience known as “Between The Cracks” (2010)

Inspired by repeated traipsing  home after a long night’s cruising and other unwise ingestion.

After a decade, I am finally able to acknowledge my near-autobiographical creation

Dear Mr Obama,

I am writing in the hope that you will consider recalibrating your government’s stance over the proposed extradition of the UK citizen Gary McKinnon.

You will not doubt be aware that people with Asperger Syndrome are often far more vulnerable than initial appearances would suggest, frequently isolated, often bullied and sadly many experience severe mental health problems if they do not get the right support.  Many consider that his extradition is unnecessary, avoidable and disproportionate as such a process has not taken place in other similar cases.

I too am one of those people.  I have Asperger Syndrome, co-morbid with other mental health issues, and like Mr McKinnon, have a deep fascination and extreme skill with technology.  Were it not for my heightened sense of clinical paranoia, I too would probably have done just what Mr McKinnon did in his search for what he perceived to be the truth.

The fact that a number of the systems that he accessed had default passwords - that is a blank field - shows recklessness on the part of the systems administrators responsible for your national security, all the way up the chain of command.

Without a wholesale overhaul of these systems and censure of those responsible, your government’s actions appear to be persecution of one of the most vulnerable members of our or any society for highlighting the failures of others.

Mr McKinnon is now a scapegoat for pointing out that the Emperor’s new clothes were in fact illusory and so I implore you to reconsider your government’s request for his extradition.

Yours sincerely,

Ian Springham

Apologies to my followers and readers for being out of the loop for so long, but I have been - finally - working on my autobiography.

“Between the Cracks” is a bit of a (so far!) life-long work in progress, having undergone a range of name changes, abortive starts, diversionary tactics and writers’ blocks.

Synopsis: I am an adult survivor of extended childhood abuse.  I only started addressing these issues in 2005, undergoing psychotherapy and taking legal action against the local authority responsible for my childhood “care”.  They settled out of court in 2008.  I have obtained access to most, if not all, of my early life records and am compiling them into a book – along with my thoughts and recollections, art and photographs – to highlight how easy it is to fall “between the cracks” and be failed by the social and other services.

This is in part to encourage the others as well as to help me continue to come to terms with the pervasive after-effects of such neglect, oversight and exploitation.

Active involvement seems to be the key to keeping going; knowing what to do seems the most difficult part.

What motivates you? London, where I live, has so many opportunities available; at least in theory.  The perils of going out, mixing with new (and comparatively strange) people - not to mention the costs involved - do make for what seem to be insurmountable hurdles.

One solution that I have found is to take an area of fascination and see what else can be done with it, given an askance view and the removal of the usual limits that gang up  to prevent even the most normal or mainstream of events ever being realised.

My latest project, you will no doubt be delighted to hear, concerns my interest in food generally and the Onion Rava Masala Dosa (very) specifically, along with web mapping and interactivity.  What occurred was the collision of several ideas, questions mainly:

• Where can one get a really good Dosa?
• What variations are there on the theme?
• Does anyone have any good recipes?
• Do all cultures have a dish roughly comparable?
• Could this all be put together using Google Maps?
• How could I build a community site based around this idea?
• Would this make a great guide for others?

Thus the “DosaDirect ” project was born, only after answering “yes” to all the above.  I am still working on the mechanics of the project, but something further should be forthcoming soon.  More news as it breaks …

The European elections are on the 4th of June which is our chance to influence the future political and environmental direction of Europe when electing our local representatives.

Will members use it as a means of punishing their local and national leaders or to direct European representation? On the other hand, will they ignore it as just another opportunity for the self-serving to line up at the trough.

What are the dangers of a low turnout allowing single-issue and extremist parties wielding disproportionate power?

I attend a couple of Art Classes each week, one as part of the “Towards Independence” initiative by my local authority and the other run by an advocacy group for people with mental health problems. As everyone there is in the same boat, people do tend to be able to get on with their work in a calm and supportive atmosphere, away from stigma and the worries of fitting in with a more mainstream group of people who do not understand the problems faced.

Writing is also helpful, although it may be “triggering” if one chooses an autobiographical subject, so caution must be exercised.

My Art is almost entirely inspired by the conflicts I have faced and so, to cope, I spend a lot of time considering what I will paint and the impact it will have before committing to canvas. This helps as a means of focussing and interpreting my experiences, releasing my impressions once in a safe space within a set time frame. Whilst the work is drying, I then have time to reflect after my 60 to 90 minutes of concentrated outpouring and I then return home with a clearer attitude and greater insight.

For important issues, a set time and space is important; having a notebook and pen to hand at all times is helpful in working through thoughts for later deeper analysis, as well as to fill in the odd dull moments when prey to distraction.

(Part of post to http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarsupporterblog/index.php/bipolar-creative-ways-to-cope/ )

Herewith some of the latest outpourings from the brush, pen & mouse of yours truly:

“Rear Window” or “Work/Life Balance” (Preliminary sketch)

“The Ballad of Epsom General” A sideways view of life on the trolley

“Enough!” Fight against the stigma of mental health (in bad Spanish)

What a week! Missed out on a job performing online support within the public sector because I was “over experienced.” Then I had an application for help with essential flooring materials turned down.  To top it all, one of my potential long-term clients has “run out of cash” just before launching their innovative scheme to direct vulnerable young people towards positive rôle models and life choices and have decided that the new aim is to provide a few links without any of the social bookmarking, geomapping and streaming video that I have spent months developing …

The immortal words of Tony Hancock spring to mind: “stone me! what a life …” or to misquote Frankie Howerd, “Twitter ye not!”

It’s only being so cheerful that keeps me going when surrounded by such shining examples of what the ancients called a “Causas Banjo “

From: http://bpd.about.com/b/2009/04/21/fda-issues-warning-on-anticonvulsants-used-to-treat-bpd.htm

Tuesday April 21, 2009

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a warning for people who take anticonvulsant medications such as Tegretol, Neurontin, and Depakote. After careful analysis, the FDA found that individuals who receive these types of medications may be as much as two times more likely to have suicidal thoughts or behaviors than individuals who receive placebos (inactive medications).

This news may be particularly important for individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD), who are often prescribed anticonvulsants due to their mood-stabilizing properties. BPD is also associated with a very high risk of suicidality. Find more on the specifics of the FDA warning on the FDA website.

For more on the use of anticonvulsants to treat BPD, see the article “BPD and Medications.”

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What particularly intrigues me is the unfortunate situation where someone is diagnosed as having epilepsy whilst also having, as yet undiagnosed, Borderline Personality Disorder.  I can’t be the only one: epilepsy is just about the most common neurological complaint and personality disorders are becoming more prevalent.  If there is a common component - structural, chemical or biological - between these disorders, then the likelihood of co-morbidity is presumably higher than the one in tens of thousands that would be dictated by pure chance.  Even that rate of co-occurrence would affect a great number of people in a nation of some tens of millions of people.

In mine own case, I stopped using  anticonvulsants - long before my BPD diagnosis - because they seemed to cause more problems than they relieved.

The following is a list of antiepileptic drugs* included in the analyses:

Labeling and approval history from Drugs@FDA.

• Carbamazepine (marketed as Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol XR)
• Divalproex sodium (marketed as Depakote, Depakote ER)
• Felbamate (marketed as Felbatol)
• Gabapentin (marketed as Neurontin)
• Lamotrigine (marketed as Lamictal)
• Levetiracetam (marketed as Keppra)
• Oxcarbazepine (marketed as Trileptal)
• Pregabalin (marketed as Lyrica)
• Tiagabine (marketed as Gabitril)
• Topiramate (marketed as Topamax)
• Zonisamide (marketed as Zonegran)

* Some of these drugs are also available in generic form.

Further thoughts on the  “Dirty Instruments” image make me think how closely related it is to the idea of being “forever changed”.  The direction of the passage of the dirty instruments container is not obvious; neither is the foreground, nor what is represented by each side of the door, thus making it a fruitful source for consideration and contemplation.  The portal is presumably one-way and the other side of it is unknown, rather like the future.  The figure wheeling the trolley has been hidden from view - if only to protect the guilty - but is decidedly on the other side from the void representing “now”.

As ever, I must either stop doodling and finish the picture or get on with my writing …

Dirty Instruments - preparatory sketch 4 - “Forever Changed”