Sweetness! I am incredibly stoked!
I just got off a call with one of the best in the business regarding my travel show idea, and he gave me some priceless advice and assistance! He confirmed many things I already (surprisingly) knew, and added glow to them, such that I can advance my knowledge. So the next step for me is to just get out and start shooting. I’m going to Blanding this next Thursday to assist in building homes for those living on the Navajo reservation with the non-profit group Hearts and Hands, and I’m going to take advantage of that trip to start filming. What perfection the Universe lines up for me! Now all I have to do is get a video camera to be able to film, haha! My friend that I just got off the phone with – Jasen Wade Nielsen – offered to assist me a bit with editing if need be, and I know a couple other people who excel at that who I can hook up with, and I personally love sound editing and yesterday found out that a really good (and developing) friend of mine is really skilled at sound editing anyway, and I am overflowing with creativity for the writing and hosting part of the job; everything is just lining up out of the blue and it feels great!! Like I said, all I need now is to find a camera (and preferably some decent sound-capturing equipment) and grab someone who can carry it and shoot and head down to Blanding by next week! I am sooooo looking forward, with immense excitement and optimism!
Now, the basic concept is to provide to youth and teens a fun, semi-interactive education on the diversity of the people who walk this planet with us with a purpose of engaging the viewer’s creativity and feelings of compassion and personal responsibility. I will cover niches wherever they may be. The first episode to be filmed, as stated above, will be the Navajo Nation in Blanding, Utah – their customs, dances, art, etc, as well as the plight they continue to endure regarding their government’s corruption. The second shoot will involve the gay movement in Salt Lake City – simply because I am getting more involved in it and the Pride Celebration (with which I am assisting this year) takes place at the beginning of June, which will give me ample time to edit the Blanding footage before I tackle my next episode. Plus, I think it’s great timing (and great footage to have in general), because of everything that’s going on between the gay movement and SLC, specifically, with all the hate crimes that have been occurring lately, and the indie Prop 8 movie being released in nationwide theaters soon and all. Like I said, the timing of all this creativity is absolutely impeccable! What should my third episode be? I am heavily considering India, as I am already planning on traveling there this summer…the only reason I’m CONSIDERING it, rather than COMMITTING to it is because I don’t know anything about it, or where to start with it! So I guess I will add to my to-do list to research India and its history and culture such that I can tackle something significant and interesting!
Timeline:
1. Research Navajo Nation for at least ten hours before Thursday.
2. Be working out to get in best shape for filming lifestyle.
3. Get video camera and someone to film.
4. Gather footage in Blanding next week.
5. Find a month-long job in Utah so I can begin saving for India.
6. Review and edit footage.
7. Format a plot for my Gay-SLC episode.
8. Research India (government, culture, rituals, niches) for at least a week.
9. Format plot for India episode.
10. Gather Gay-SLC footage in June.
11. Move to San Luis Obispo and immediately get a job to save for India trip.
12. Review and edit footage.
13. Take 2-3 days to research surfer culture and history.
14. Gather Surf footage in June/July.
15. Review and edit footage.
16. Gather footage in India in August?
17. Review and edit footage.
If you think I’m missing anything, feel free to throw anything up here. I love hearing from you guys and look forward to your discussions! Love y’all (as Texans would say)!
Showing posts with label creation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creation. Show all posts
4.23.2010
4.12.2010
The Key
Yesterday, my amazing friend Lori Baldwin uttered very timely words to me and a group of friends. They are words I already believed, but it was nice to hear them again. In so many words she said: “I had an epiphany recently. Life is really just a dream. And in our dreams, we can create whatever we want.” Think about your dreams. What kind of crazy shit do you have going on in there?? I know mine are always weird, nonsensical and random. And as they are simply reflections of our consciousness in that moment, so is life, because the reality we perceive as life is but a dream that we are experiencing.
I believe where a lot of people get stuck in their ability to create what they want out of life is down the avenue of Gratitude. Sure, you may have strolled down it before, you may even know Gratitude Ave. like the back of your hand...but I believe in all of us, there is something down that street of which we have never before taken notice. I can’t tell you what that is, because everyone’s stroll has been different, so I challenge you to see what it is for you. Now, the reason I hypothesize this is based on experiences I’ve shared with myself, as well as experiences I’ve shared with others. When I reflect on my experience with life, creation and gratitude, a set of lyrics from “Grey,” one of my favorite Ani DiFranco songs, comes to mind. I’ve posted the set to which I’m referring immediately below, as well as the whole song -- in case you’re interested -- at the very bottom of this post.
I know I’ve felt this way, really as a constant in my life, and I firmly believe we all have felt this way. No matter what side of the spectrum on which we lie, I believe we have all experienced this wanting, this desire, this loneliness in our lives to some degree. I used to let myself wallow in such melancholy, thinking it was cathartic. And who knows, it may have been...but what I believe now is that wallowing there does not ultimately serve me. Another friend posted yesterday on her Facebook page: “When you notice you are not getting what you want, instead notice what you aren’t getting that you don’t want.” I think that’s a first step. I think the next step is FULL-ON gratitude! In my opinion, the “tiny, shiny key” to which the song refers is Gratitude; Gratitude, for whatever circumstances may come to you, is the key to forward movement. If I’m having a horrendous day, I can see it as hell and sulk, or I can look at it with the mindset of “Well, thank god that day is over, on to the next!” or “Wow, if I’m having such a bad day, I wonder how the women in Iraq are doing. Thank you for blessing me with this life.”
To further this acknowledgment in your life, here are some questions to get you going:
For what kind of Paradise are you looking?
If you don’t have said Paradise, then what is getting in your way?
For what are you grateful today – really, genuinely grateful?
How can you be grateful and take your next step?
For your enjoyment, here are the full lyrics to "Grey," by Ani DiFranco, from the album "Reveling and Reckoning: Reckoning":
I believe where a lot of people get stuck in their ability to create what they want out of life is down the avenue of Gratitude. Sure, you may have strolled down it before, you may even know Gratitude Ave. like the back of your hand...but I believe in all of us, there is something down that street of which we have never before taken notice. I can’t tell you what that is, because everyone’s stroll has been different, so I challenge you to see what it is for you. Now, the reason I hypothesize this is based on experiences I’ve shared with myself, as well as experiences I’ve shared with others. When I reflect on my experience with life, creation and gratitude, a set of lyrics from “Grey,” one of my favorite Ani DiFranco songs, comes to mind. I’ve posted the set to which I’m referring immediately below, as well as the whole song -- in case you’re interested -- at the very bottom of this post.
“My little pink heart is on its little brown raft, floating out to sea…What kind of Paradise am I looking for? I’ve got everything I wanted, but still I want more. Maybe some tiny, shiny key will wash up on the shore…Regretfully, I guess I’ve got three simple things to say: Why me? Why this, now? Why this way?”
I know I’ve felt this way, really as a constant in my life, and I firmly believe we all have felt this way. No matter what side of the spectrum on which we lie, I believe we have all experienced this wanting, this desire, this loneliness in our lives to some degree. I used to let myself wallow in such melancholy, thinking it was cathartic. And who knows, it may have been...but what I believe now is that wallowing there does not ultimately serve me. Another friend posted yesterday on her Facebook page: “When you notice you are not getting what you want, instead notice what you aren’t getting that you don’t want.” I think that’s a first step. I think the next step is FULL-ON gratitude! In my opinion, the “tiny, shiny key” to which the song refers is Gratitude; Gratitude, for whatever circumstances may come to you, is the key to forward movement. If I’m having a horrendous day, I can see it as hell and sulk, or I can look at it with the mindset of “Well, thank god that day is over, on to the next!” or “Wow, if I’m having such a bad day, I wonder how the women in Iraq are doing. Thank you for blessing me with this life.”
To further this acknowledgment in your life, here are some questions to get you going:
For what kind of Paradise are you looking?
If you don’t have said Paradise, then what is getting in your way?
For what are you grateful today – really, genuinely grateful?
How can you be grateful and take your next step?
For your enjoyment, here are the full lyrics to "Grey," by Ani DiFranco, from the album "Reveling and Reckoning: Reckoning":
The sky is grey
The sand is grey and
The ocean is grey.
I feel right at home
In this stunning monochrome,
Alone in my way.
I smoke and I drink and
Every time I blink
I have a tiny dream.
But as bad as I am,
I'm proud of the fact
That I'm worse than I seem.
What kind of paradise am I looking for?
I've got everything I wanted and still I want more.
Maybe some tiny, shiny key will wash up on the shore...
You walk through my walls
Like a ghost on TV
You penetrate me
And my little pink heart
Is on its little brown raft,
Floating out to sea.
And what can I say but
I'm wired this way?
And you're wired to me...
And what can I do
But wallow in you
Unintentionally?
Oh, what kind of paradise am I looking for?
I've got everything I wanted and still I want more.
Maybe some tiny, shiny key will wash up on the shore.
Regretfully,
I guess I've got three
Simple things to say:
Why me?
Why this, now?
Why this way?
Th'overtone's ringing,
Undertow's pulling away
Under a sky that is grey
On sand that is grey
By an ocean that's grey!
And what kind of paradise am I looking for?
I've got everything I wanted and still I want more.
Maybe some tiny, shiny key will wash up on the shore...
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