fun lives.

I went to a show at the Marigny Theater tonight in the Marigny Neighborhood of New Orleans just off Elysian Fields. I went with a few friends and saw the Zydepunks tear it up for $5. The show rocked really hard, one of those shows that makes you feel the collective high of everyone's experience of the music. The opener was Wino Vino out of Austin and they were a gypsy punk band. They got the new orleans gypsy contingency crowd good and primed for the Zydepunks. The Zydepunks make me so happy to know that they exist. They make the kind of music that after a night of dancing to their songs, I feel like I shook something loose, swished it around, moshed with it and then let it go and feel so much clearer for it. I suppose the bass heavy foot stomping thuds of their music really gets to the core of any and all frustrations that might be going on for me. I hope others can relate because it feels amazing to me!

They played for a good hour and fifteen minutes or so and I reminded myself I paid $5 and I am blessed to have gotten that much goodness! So Ian, Tara and I crossed over to the Hi-Ho Lounge and got another beer. Crossing back to the All Ways Lounge, which connects to the Marigny Theater. A few people were gathered in the bike lane of St. Claude, playing jump rope. We stood off to the side until Ian declared that he wanted to jump in and start jumping rope. He made moves to the turners and waited his turn to instantaneously work out physics and geometry in his brain to jump successfully into a space while ropes are being turned. He did it, quite gracefully. Then the girls upped the ante. I really felt like they were jump rope hustlers because I don't think I heard any words being exchanged regarding their decision to include a second rope and turn double dutch style. But there it was, two ropes turning and four white boys trying to jump into the path of two rotating, middle school quality, plastic ropes. The whole scene was really comical. Then I wanted to turn double dutch because I always liked doing that in middle school. I could never get the hang of jumping double dutch but I could turn and that way I could still be involved!

I turned double dutch on the corner of Marigny & St. Claude tonight. Two white girls from the neighborhood over there schooled the entire crowd on some bad ass jump roping. It was not their first time at the playground. hehe. It was great, I'm glad I just played in the streets.

a memory

Belize has two blue hole attractions, surprisingly. I am aware that my upbringing conditioned me to think that it is appropriate to honor a compulsive need to identify the distinctions between two different places. But when its as clear cut as a blue hole in a water body, I recognize there are limitations in the variations one could put on identifying features for the purpose of nomenclature.

Regardless, on a day trip from Benque, I took a journey to the lesser known Blue Hole National Park, outside Melpoman, Belize. The park is in the bush about a two hour bus ride outside of Benque, which is a mile east of Guatemala. Listening to Beres Hammond, Richie Spice and Barrington Levy hold church through the blasting hypnotic reggae beats, I travelled by bus from my temporary host city.

Blue Hole National Park is adjacent to a national highway. I climbed off the second bus of the day and walked up the driveway to the welcome center. The hole, I was told, is roughly a two mile walk by trail. At this point the temperature was probably around 90 degrees. I had a bottle of water and my swim suit so I made for the trail.

Hiking in, the first thing that came to mind was the lack of malaria medication surging through my blood to ward of the attack from potential pathogens. I conceded that I will be able identify to my doctor the time and place in which I contracted malaria.

It was a beautiful and rigorous walk through fresh, vibrant rain forest. Musty and damp and full of life, the earth throbbed and the air dripped with moisture. Coming down the hill to the natural spring, you can feel the earth cooling around you. And off to the far edge of the watering hole is a bright translucent blue hole. A mysterious circular area belies the fact that its depth is unknown unless one is willing to explore its reaches into the earth firsthand. Its one of those things that I think were made with the understanding of how naturally elated conscious life can be while experiencing it.

The water was ice cold. I cooled down instantly and this luckily helped me to not consume all my water, which becomes a crucial detail as this story unfolds further.

Oak Street Buddy

Joe and I will meet Buddy at his shop on Oak Street tomorrow. Mr. Buddy, as Sam calls him, has owned his barber shop on Oak St. for decades. Sam has been getting hair cuts from him since he was a child. Sam has a great admiration for Mr. Buddy and wants to capture the essence and presence of such an institutional figure in an iconic city.

Joe will request that he bring his camera in and test the lighting and I will ask if we can arrange some time either this Tuesday coming or the Tuesday following to film him Sam a haircut while Sam asks him about life in New Orleans pre-WWII. I will also ask what the likelihood of convincing him to come in on a weekend day to play documentary film with us :)

I want to see the layout of the shop before I start sequencing any frames. I want to know what the space looks like and picture what Sam will look like in the barber chair. And look at all the old pictures Sam says he has on his walls.

yes, indeed.

Memories

I have a few memories that I feel ashamed of myself for my behavior. I shall document these...

Arriving home at about 6pm on a typical evening after middle school sporting practice of some sort, I found myself alone at home. This wasn't unusual because my mom often worked late and my sister worked the night shift from 7pm to 7am at a neighborhood diner. Settling in and waiting for my mom to get home, I turned the TV on to watch the Simpsons. Nothing but static. I was no stranger to static because my household never indulged in the fine reception offered by cable TV. I was used to the necessary finagling with the antennae to receive maximum sharpness of image. So I climbed behind the entertainment center, that my family affectionately called the ET, and began jigging with the antennae wire input behind the TV. Nothing. Then rotated, readjusted, and repositioned the aerial itself to try to fix the reception. Nothing. I started to get real pissed. WHY WONT YOU WORK? Nothing was going right. My pre-teen angst began to boil to the surface, my emotions began to suffocate me, my tears surfaced and I began slamming my fist on the top of the TV.

I backed away convinced that the TV and I needed some time apart. I unplugged the disobedient appliance, took a few breaths, and recomposed myself because I was close to exploding. I plugged the TV back in and turned it on. There was static on all channels still but now Channel 2 (or CBS to the laymen) began to show snowy images of emergency vehicles, chaos and the World Trade Center. Then a news reporter stated that much of the broadcasting for the Greater New York area is interrupted due to the bombing in the basement of the Center. Most of the local networks transmitted their feed through antennae perched high above the city conveniently located on the Twin Towers. I swallowed my rage for an uncooperative television and instantly appreciated the triviality of my inconvenience.

Last night...

I did some good thinking about where I am and what I'm doing these days. It seems that the comfort zone of American life that I've been conditioned to understand as right is a steady job with all that seems practical wrapped up nicely in that package. There's nothing wrong with that, but at the same time I resist it. In this resistance, I struggle to be good with where I'm at, tending to look to the next opportunity. Also in that resistance is fear and hesitation to explore the unkown. The unknown being anything from juggling several part time jobs, pursuing amateur filmmaking, to becoming a student again. I am praying for the strength to go out on a limb in some capacity and trust that I am the maker of my comfort zone.

Little Utopia

I operate at maximum efficiency when my mind has one single focus or goal as opposed to several overlapping at the same time. I have difficulties with the balancing act of multi-tasking. By maximum efficiency, I mean 'easy like sunday morning.'

I also feel really conflicted by the concept of foreign aid to "developing" nations. I think its presumptuous to elicit the term "developed" versus "developing." Who was charged with determining the baseline for this scale? A fitting African proverb states that "Until the lion has his or her own storyteller, the hunter will always have the best part of the story."

I think that foreign aid contributes to keeping the developing world perpetually on a, shockingly even, plateau that consistently resists growth according to Western scales. In other words, I'm wondering if the very nature of foreign aid is outright counter-productive. The problem to its own solution.

The way my universe looks is that we as a world localize ourselves. Release foreign dependency as a worldwide concept. [We have come to the point, as a world population, that we are seeing the additive effects of our impact to our environment. It is now time to take all innovation to the next level and apply it to sustaining ourselves on this planet utilizing the resources of the natural climate that currently exists around us and release foreign dependency as a standard. Because we've already laid the foundation for the existing infrastructure systems, it is up to us to innovate further to sustainability within our means.] Countries must take a firm stand against industry metathesizing beyond the human and material means of it's geographical area. Growth beyond these limits has proven to be environmentally, socially, and politically unsustainable.

In terms of politics, I think that we know what is best for us. But I cannot ever think that we know what is best for everyone else. In my universe, no nation will guide the internal processes of any other nation. In times of humanitarian crisis, the international community will act because genocide will no longer be tolerated.

To round out my universe, I think its necessary to incorporate a social aspect. I do not want it rife with isolationism. As it is, we can communicate regularly with people across the world in seconds. We have learned more about each other culturally in the last 50 years as a result of innovation and technology advancement than we had learned of each other in all of human existence prior to this age of modernity. What I mean is that I want to be able to visit countries around the world to learn about their culture. Just to learn, for my edification. To interact globally for the sake of expanded cultural and behavioral exposure.

I think we are approaching a culmination in which we will have to learn to do some variation of all of these things in order to continue to cohabit together as a people and with our host environment. That little utopia.

My letter to the president

Hello President Obama,
I have two comments, one based on a policy concern and one suggestion.

I will describe my policy concern first because my suggestion is on the lighter note but equally important in my opinion. I read today of the national trade deficit and our more realistic and conservative regression from exceptional intake patterns to the current leveling of what our nation can import against what can be exported. I think as a matter of policy, public outreach dollars should be dedicated to teaching the adult population of this country about the concept of over-consumption. Our economic situation is exacerbated by the quantity of products that the United States commits to take in yearly from the global market and our output is stifled in comparison which creates an unsustainable scenario. There was mass growth at unprecedented rates and obvious excess. Our current economic situation is the product of an unbalanced checkbook.

I think that a cultural shift is needed for our country to emerge from this economic situation. I also think that the ARRA funding would have maximum long term benefit if as part of the allocations a level of public outreach was dedicated to bringing the public up to speed with the impact of the US economy in the global market and how consumer choices drive that same market. The black box approach is just not going to serve the needs of the public in these times and we all deserve to understand what the impact of our consumer choices has meant to our long term investment choices.

On a lighter note, I recently read that Ex-President Eisenhower took a three month cross country trek along Lincoln Highway. I think in light of our promise to open and accessible government coupled with the heaviness of the times that such a venture could really benefit the morale of the country! I think the American public would love to see you hit the road for a few days at the very least. I know I'd come to see you!

Thanks for all you do, I think you're doing a great job.

Regards,

New Orleans, LA