"What happens in a field at dusk?!" - I heart Huckabees

Santa Cruz was rainy and uneventful, on through SF and through the Napa Valley to Harbin Hotsprings. Magical. Forrested Valley with steaming pools, cottages, meditating figures and winding paths. I arrived late at night, stripped off my clothes and sank into the body temperature waters, forms floating, staring silently around me, some holding, bodyworking each other. Complete silence except for the moon's glow.

The next day on to Arcata, back to friends, just for a night, that turned into days.. finally saw -I heart Huckabees - amazing. getting closer to the bliss...

Top ten bathroom and ballroom dancing

Last night we went out to the Madonna Inn, for ballroom dancing. An amazing place, it looks like it was designed by Liberaces fan club. An surreal setting with smooth dancers of all ages, and one of the top ten bathrooms in the world, according to some travel television show. Basically you pee on a rock wall, and you get a waterfall...

Cheers from Bishop's Peak

Hiked up this peak outside of San Luis Obispo, in Southern Cal, and filmed this little piece to update things a bit. Planned on only spending a night in this town, but connected with some interesting people, and my next shoot was squashed, so I had some time to just relax. Now I am off to Big Sur and Santa Cruz...

Joshua Tree

The Lost Campsight ...


So my camping insanity continues. I have yet to have a 'normal' night of camping. The night I got to Joshua Tree, all the campsites in the park were full, and most of the motels in the area too, but eventually I ended up at the sands motel, woohoo. The next day, I got a back country permit, and set up the amazing site (above), but when I went to find it after dark, I spent nearly 2 hours wandering around in the desert, and couldn't find it, but did have some amazing connections with the universe (I was reminded of the intensity of the stars in the desert, and the insignificance of us) and all the critters rustling about. When I stumbled back to my car, I ran into three girls on spring break I had met earlier (all beautiful, each in their unique way, and one was brilliantly, and disturbingly, funny), and they invited me into their tent, and to share their three bottles of wine. It wasn't the experience I expecting (solitude, nature, belly gazing) but it was an experience anyway. I found my campsite this morning, we'll see what happens tonight...

Reflecting on LA - I think I thought I would find something there, some kind of clear answer about this project, maybe someone wanting to put sustainability on TV I don't know. But I don't think I wanted any of the answers LA has to offer. It's a massive city full of millions of people expecting something from being there, and getting shit on instead. It is amazing being here in this strange alien nature after being in a megatropolis like LA...

See The Way out of the city!

So now I am free of the city and it’s madness - well free of the city, but I am in Palm Springs, so I can hardly say I am free of the madness. But this is old people madness, old people trying very hard to walk around with an air of importance, as they talk about getting 'tee' times and buying jewelry, and upcoming tennis matches.
What I wanted to get to though was that I am free of the city, and I really don’t feel like I took advantage of the opportunities while I was there. Mostly it seemed like I was in traffic, which I guess is truly the LA experience. But I met all sorts of interesting and ‘important’ people, but I didn’t pursue those connections, so now they are gone. Mostly I was just uncomfortable being in the city I think. I am really a small town boy. Born in the city, raised in the burbs, and now I reallly appreciate small towns. But some of the worst shit goes down in small towns, I think that happens when they are not open. When there paradigms are left unchecked, if you have a college, or other way to bring in new people, energy ideas and vitality, you’re set.
Anyways, somebody in LA decided they needed my windshield wiper more than I did, and now some old fart or fartess has crunched the back of my car while it was parked. I'm sad for my little car, I will have to find someone to give it some love soon...
Still on my way to Joshua Tree and the sun is going down...gotta go!
El Deano

Out of the city!

So Saturday - City Repair in the street, meeting many of the people that live in this community and their nieghbors - was fantastic. Since then I have interviewed Lois, a founder of the community, and filmed one of Mark’s presentations, and been immersed in the beaches and Hollywood and 'the business' and it's all a bit depressing, this community is a refuge from the madness that surrounds it, but I have had enough of the city. I have also just filmed Uli, and now I am ready to get out of this huge sprawling mass of concrete and humanity and egos.

So much stimuli
assaulting ears, nose and eyes
energy, anger, skin, smiles, growls, fingers, intensity, disconnection
the city is heartless and I
have no armor...

I am off for Joshua Tree

More Marathon Driving

More marathon driving. I received an email from Uli (remember my intentional communities guru?) letting me know that the next day Mark from City Repair would be at LA Eco-Village - where Uli lives, and they were painting a mural in their intersection. So I got up at 6 a.m. the next morning and set out for LA. Seven hours later I was there, filming this amazing event (I have also filmed a similar project in Olympia - A film about the City Repair movement is in the process of being edited and will be up on my web site in the next few weeks).

I drove all night...

Tonight I filmed the mother of this community that I have been staying at for the last three days. She designed the homes and was the main force behind pulling this project through to completion. She planned to live here for the rest of her life. But she no longer lives here, and is still carrying a lot of pain over how the community developed. Most would consider this community a success, it was built, it is full, most of the people are happy to be here. The filming seemed like a very therapeutic experience for her. Often the people I film seem to get more form the experience than I do, and I have been getting a lot from the people I have been filming.

I drove all night...
I wanted to spend a night in the redwoods on my way to San Francisco, so I checked out a couple of campgrounds on the way, they were ok, but $25, twenty five bucks to put my tent up on a patch of dirt for a few hours. I just couldn’t abide. So I continued down highway one, perhaps the curviest highway in the world. All my belongings were being slammed around my car as I pushed my little hybrid for all it was worth. I used to love driving highway one, when I rode motorcycles. But in a car it’s just a pain, especially in a car full of stuff. I rembered there being a hostel in a lighthouse north of the city, so I kept on pushing into the dark, to the road to lighthouse. Finally a sighn says 7 miles. I can do that. After about six miles another sign says 17 miles. Ugh! I am beat, but I have got to keep pushing. I have noticed that someone has messed with several of the signs along this highway. Another 16 miles of slow, winding, tired driving, and I don’t seem to be getting any closer, then I see the sign, Point Reyes Lighthouse 20 miles. Oh I am dying. It is almost midnight, I have been driving all day, my car and I am tired. I start looking for a hotel. The next thing I know I am on the Golden Gate Bridge, heading into San Francisco. Soon I would have a bed and sleep.
The Bay Area was really the only visit I had set up before I left. A friend had just moved to a community. I tried calling him in the morning. And for the next two days, and never reached him. Just confirms my suspicions, it is better not to plan, but to ride the flow...