investigations, insight, unconditional Love for the greater Oneness, tales of adventure, and shameless optimism from the edge of the not so distant future
I’m doing pretty well in Toronto right now. I have a contract job that just got extended (until March) and am making enough to get by and go out for dinner once in awhile. My job is a bit boring, but I have good working conditions and am making good contacts. I’m drumming in two bands and going to a film club meeting twice a week to learn more about creating my own media.
I’m glad I came back here, it’s obviously part of the greater picture. Toronto is a great city and many will benefit from what I’m learning, doing, and becoming here.
That said, I miss BC & I’ll be back there eventually. Hopefully with the means to manifest a nice piece of land and/or with a soul mate.
Until then, I will enjoy what’s awesome about the East.
Blowing bubbles has become a symbol of what happened at the G20 Protests in Toronto…
Hundreds of protesters expected to blow bubbles at Toronto rally www.digitaljournal.com/article/294791 “Digital Journal reported on Friday that a woman was arrested shortly after she began to blow bubbles at two police officers. One of officers threatened to arrest of her if any of the bubbles hit him because it was an act of assault. The officer has been dubbed: Officer Bubbles.”
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“During the G20, the police acted in a way that directly contradicts how we believe a lawful society should behave. Many protesters and innocent bystanders were unjustly arrested and detained for up to 36 hours, some without even the right to have access to a lawyer or a phone call.”
In the new model that is still emerging, the creative energy of the filmmakers no longer ends with the completion of the film, but continues to be drawn upon for the entire life cycle of the project. The distribution and marketing of the film become a direct extension of the process of making it, and the creativity extends to every aspect of promoting, marketing, packaging, distributing, and showing it. On one side, this means that the artist can no longer be naive about business, or distanced from it, and hope to survive.
While artists have to become business savvy, on the other side, the business people have to become more like artists, sorting through all sorts of radical possibilities that didn’t even exist a few years ago. In the film world and other cultural areas, business is becoming more like art, and art is becoming more inseparable from business. Art purists may feel this is a bad thing; although it is a bit exhausting for the creative person who might like to retreat to his studio, I like these new developments and find them promising as well as exciting.
We are in a new kind of Renaissance – a creative entrepreneurial gold rush. These days, at least half of the musicians and directors I meet seem to be developing “technology plays,” new software systems and mechanisms for creating revenue and making their projects stand out in a blizzard of seemingly infinite options. The entire situation is maddening in it’s intricate convoluted complexity, but also fascinating. In the breakdown of the old models, media has become incredibly liquid, like mercury that runs everywhere and can coagulate into any form, at least momentarily, before it flows away again.
So a few weeks ago, I sent the screenplay to two different contests, each of which promised to provide feedback. I received it from both this morning.
One of the contests obviously didn’t read past the first 10 pages, while the other actually provided some useful feedback.
I’m done with contests, but I’m going to continue sending the thing around to real people. I’m still optimistic I can go somewhere with it, and last week I got a tingly feeling when I walked into a The Baitshop, a skate shoe store and more (photos) in the neighbourhood that would be a perfect location for Bryce’s shop.
The same thing happened a few weeks ago at The Music Gallery, a converted church used for concerts and events. I had finished writing a few days earlier, and felt as if I was sitting inside what I had just created. The performer I saw there even said something about “emanate, elevate” like my female lead.
The screenplay project is starting to take over my mind. The elements of the story are coming together like puzzle pieces and I’ve started carrying a stack of index cards around with ideas for characters and scenes. Today I decided to name the main character “Drake” then I saw this sweet fellow later in the evening on my walk through High Park:
I also found a new spot for the sunset, which will change as the season brings leaves and later as the axis tilts towards summer…
If you’re ever in Toronto and needing some nature, take the subway to Keele Station, cross the street and enter the urban forest. Some of it is quite fine, though you will have to share it with joggers and dog people.
I started a temporary job in a retail electronics store and experienced a gang of professional shoplifters sweeping through, who managed to steal two laptops. A “family” of a couple and a 17-18 year old girl came in and the girl sweetly asked me to show her musical instruments in one corner while a group of two other guys that came in at the same time distracted my co-worker in an opposite corner. Someone managed to break the locks on the computers and get out before we noticed.
It was very frustrating to be swindled, however I was amazed at the skill of the thieves. Some that I’ve talked to about the incident have tried to convince me that stealing from “a corporation” is somehow morally ok, Robin Hood style. This is an ethical grey area.
I personally would not steal, however I understand why some others do.
The journey into Hamilton has been educational and rich in terms of life experience…
Right now would be a great time for someone to donate to my webhosting fund. Any donations go directly to the web company so that “your donation will only be used to pay for this site’s hosting fees. The site owner won’t be able to run off and spend your donation on DVDs, fine steak dinners, or anything else.”
I went for a walk this evening feeling like I needed to go sing outside, so I took the Autoharp over to the Uvic campus. Got lost and went the long way around to the student union since I wanted a hot chocolate first. There were many people milling around there which seemed odd for a Monday in the Summertime, turned out I had arrived just in time for a movie. Decided to go in without knowing what film was being shown. Perhaps it was synchronous that I did a bit of lost wandering!
They were showing Every Little Step which documented the process of auditioning (literally) thousands of people for a revival of A Chorus Line in New York City, which is a show about the life of Broadway performers. This movie was a show about Broadway performers auditioning for a show about Broadway performers.
I never got to sing anything this evening, however I got a little bit of perspective on my own job search & am Now I’m feeling like auditioning for something offoffoffoff Broadway…
A friend has disappeared at a music festival this weekend, likely while swimming in the Ocean.
There is celphone access at the event and someone there posted details via Facebook. It’s amazing to see how fast the news has spread & the outpouring of love & prayers.
May we all remember to love the people in our lives NOW while they’re with us, and to “swim with a buddy” when going ambitious distances and/or where there’s an undertow.
so the B&B thing didn’t work out
luckily, my old housemates hadn’t found a roommate yet and I was welcomed back
this time I have a different room and all is New
