As You See...

“What are you doing???”

I wonder myself what it is we are doing. First off, we are traveling by bicycle from California to South America. On top of that we are making a documentary film of our adventure. As if the physical challenge of making the 5,000 or so mile trek without the help of the automobile wasn’t hard enough, we are carrying bulky camera gear on top of that. However, I am not ashamed to say, “I do except all forms of generosity, including car rides, especially during storms;)”

We have come across a lot of people on our journey and the most common question people ask us as they scratch their head, “what are you doing?”

We do a lot of things, biking only being a fraction of that.

“Well, what’s your film about?”

Dealing with this question is repetitive and complicated to say the least.

Revolutions Southward is an artumentary* that tells the story of four unique individual’s struggle to find purpose in today’s changing world.

Art·u·men’tary - A film that documents actual events by means of an unusual and creative means.

"So, what are you doing?"

With a grant gesture of my hand,

“As you see…”

To illustrate…

When the guy driving the huge Winnebago pulled into the state beach and parked in our rainy view of the ocean while Julie, Davin, and I eat lunch under the urine stench shelter of a condemned bathroom and asked, “What are you doing?”

With a grand gesture of my hand,

“As you see…”

When my friend Melany insisted I wore a pink cape on my maiden voyage and people stared in wonder, “What are you doing?”

With the twirl of my hand.

“As you see.”

Just as my Dad’s friend Kurt cavorted while dressed in scraps of linens from his sweatshop like Laurence of Arabia when the Joshua Tree park ranger asked, “What are you doing?” Kurt replied,

“As you see...”

When we edited the Sir Norte segment in a over priced Big Sur restaurant and the waiter asked, "what are you doing?"

"As you See..."

It’s hard to define a story that is in motion. With most films the script comes first then production. In our case we are more or less crossing our fingerers that we catch the gems of our story as they unfold. There are no rules...

“What are you doing?”

As my arm rises and falls.

“As you see.”

http://vimeo.com/18319815

Can It Get Any Better?

I have been telling people about this trip for about a year before I even owned a touring bike or a camera. For a while I doubted if I would even be able to pull it off. I feared I would become one of those guys that talk everything up, a boaster that never delivered. I have also wondered how we are going to create a film that is not only watchable but, something I can take pride in. With such a limited crew and budget it can be quite the mental challenge. So far we have been doing just fine.

About a year ago I was in Santa Cruz talking to this guy that knew Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros and he told me that if I didn't make the film I was saying I could do, I would be something along the line of a failure. I thought to myself, "Gee thats kinda harsh." Anyway, I think I may have figured a way to do it, with the help of Julie and Davin and whoever else that's willing of course. It's a work in progress;)

This Girl...

The Postcard - they get around in ways you never could.

Julie's creativity keeps blowing my mind. We just stayed three nights in the Castro District of San Francisco at Jonathan and Nicole Richman's house (for those of you that don't know of him, he is the reoccurring musician in the film Something about Mary). We even got back stage access at one of Jonathan's shows at the Great American Music Hall, we all felt like rockstars. Anyway, Jonathan and Nicole are technophobes, meaning they don't use cell phones, computers, or the internet. They appreciate the finer things of life: live music, art, animals, literature, family, etc. Although we all are tainted with the techo world, little things like postcards preserve a dying art form that Julie is committed to keeping alive.

The Cross-Word-Puzzle - intended just to save words and phrases for fun.

At Jonathan and Nicole's I finished writing Medicine For the Low Life on their piano. I plan to record a video version with Chris Peaslee as soon as we get to Huntington Beach. Say tuned...

Thrift Shopping - A better way of buying stuff you didn't need anyway.

To wrap things up Julie washed and dried my vantage iPod nano. You can imagine how I felt. Davin's mom Cyndra said I should put it in the freezer, so I did. Its a real Christmas miracle, my ipod has been revived!!! Does it get any better?