Another Piece of the Puzzle

Last night I serentypically found myself at Draw and Amira’s for a potluck. As entertainment Amira produced a jigsaw puzzle, a photomosaic of a Van Gogh self-portrait. For those unfamiliar (and I’m sorry I wasn’t able to find a good photo anywhere on the net) a photomosaic is one of those images that consists of thousands of smaller images that when combined and viewed from a distance come together to create one large complete image. So, each puzzle piece had one, or fragments of several tiny photographs, making completing the 1000 piece puzzle that much more challenging.

Great, thrilling I hear you say. You’re on the edge of your seats. Or not. But let me tell you what working on this puzzle taught me about being human and happy.

Several of us sat down around the table to work on this puzzle together, and everyone had a slightly different technique. Stella began by collecting all the red pieces and assembling them, others started working on assembling the edges and corners. Both proved to be pretty effective techniques, though both also eventually plateaued in terms of effectiveness. As for myself I started collecting all the pieces with pictures of airplanes and helicopters on them which proved to be pretty inefficient.

Now I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that most people would assume that the lesson I learned had to do with the most efficient way of tackling this problem of completing the puzzle, but its not. No the lesson I learned had very little to do with finishing the puzzle project. What I observed was that solving the puzzle wasn’t really the most important thing. What was important was deriving pleasure from the exercise. No I didn’t find a lot of interlocking pieces that went together, but I did enjoy collecting together and looking at all of the aircraft photographs. That’s it. Simple really. I enjoyed what I was doing, regardless of whether or not it was the most efficient route to the ultimate “goal” of the game. I was just having fun.

For someone who has historically gotten very uptight about goals and efficiency and “doing things right” this is a pretty profound thing, and what’s more I didn’t even think about it until now, a day later upon reflection. Wow. I was playing. Really playing. Without consideration for right or wrong, winning or losing. That’s pretty cool.

When it’s handed to you on a platter

…you’re really obligated to take it and run. So it goes with this next idea. Well, just look at the photo I saw;

Its an album cover – of course! It also perfectly fits as an opposite and opposing force to the Cloudburst Artcar. Yes an umbrella that makes it rain on you. What an awesome costume! Probably also easier to make – though a huge pain in the ass to carry around – water ain’t light.

So nicely surreal.

Artist’s Log – Artdate: Today

Just started painting the table base I found on Notre Dame earlier this summer, after brushing and scraping the heck out of it. JoJo pointed out the hearts in the pattern and suggested red, and that’d be awesome, but. I have orange paint that I found on the street, and orange is cool, like red but less serious, more chill. Saftey man, safety.

So I painted it. I think its housepaint. No biggie. Sometimes I painted in big swaths, sometimes little strokes. Sometimes I globbed the pain on, other times I was more judicious. The paint was free. Fuck it. Time to play. Experiment. Just have fun. The end result really isn’t important because I didn’t spend a cent on it. I told myself as I worked – “Maybe I’ll have to strip it – cool. I’ve never stripped metal before, bring it on! I want to learn every different thing about this process. This doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, but it might teach me to make one.”

Wow. Nice one baby.

Its exactly the perspective I need to have to achieve the things I want to achieve. And it happened when it started to rain and I thought – fuck it, I’m having fun. I’m staying outside and painting. Which works up to a point, and then you need to stop.

Be Comfotable, Give Back

Every year when I leave Burning Man I have a list in my head of things to do the next year to make my experience better. And every year I forgot 90% of those things by the time Burning Man swung around again. So, this year I’m going to put some of this stuff down on… well not paper. Paper is oldskool. Anyways…

These are things I wrote, miserable and grumpy, hot and tired in my tent Sunday before they opened the gates. One of my tent poles was snapped and the mesh in my tent only helped to granulate the dust into a near mist.

• Be Comfortable: That means taking care of myself. Have good food, good footwear, chapstick, vinegar, moisturizer, a nice chair, a nice tent, etc. Nobody will take care of you but you, so do a good job of it.
• Be Over-Prepared: Bring more than you think you’ll need. Then there’s no stress. Have backups, bring things that you *might* need. Remember that things will get lost, gifted away, broken, etc.
• Make it Easy: Its hot, chances are good I’m not sleeping enough, if things aren’t easy they won’t get done. Workflows and spaces should be streamlined and simplified so that tasks require next to no effort.
• Don’t be Cheap: This goes with being over-prepared. That tent or those shoes are no use if they break halfway through the week. Likewise, this is a vacation, buy the expensive wine, at least one.
• Trust Your Gut – Even if it Means Conflict: If my brain says that this guy shouldn’t climb this tower, then I should say so. If my brain thinks that tarp is totally going to blow away and take our car shelter with it, I should say so.

Those are the big line items, and so many little things fit into them. For instance putting a big 2ft x 3ft poster of the playa map up in the kitchen with a whiteboard underneath to write down names and addresses would help everyone keep shit clear in their heads. Just simple design decisions like where to place things can make a HUGE difference.

Okay, I was going to write more but I have to pack for Boston. One more road trip adventure before this burn is truly over. Here we go again.

I’m awake and I have a Robin Hood hat on. What more do you want? I have somehow managed to complete, well one of my 5-list tasks without even leaving the house today so whoopie for that.

There is a vague scent of natural gas in the kitchen ever since I cooked up some bacon. I’m not sure whether or not this should be a cause for concern. I could leave a note for my roommates not to light any matches or lighters, but that seems like jumping the gun.

So I’m heading out for my daily… what did I call it? Paces. What the fuck does that mean? Well it sounds more meditative and sophisticated than walk, and as came up in conversation today words are like magic so choose yours wisely. I just try to use them in unusual contexts and coax out those that don’t get used enough. Shed some pixie dust when you take them out of the ‘ol box right? Exactly. Its the only damn thing I’m good at, but when you realise how much you can do with ‘em, well, words are pretty damned cool. Which is just a lazy way of saying fantabularistic. You all got that right? See. Magic.

Well the breeze is calling through my open window, along with the honeybee drone of a hedge trimmer somewhere.

Off to Boston tonight so not much time, a quick walk, some inhaling of paint fumes, hasty packing of whatever will fit my frame and we’re off. Hours of driving, like a video game but with a declining gas gauge instead of a mounting scorecard. Alas. Off to paces.

Idea Man

That’s me, Idea Man. At Burning Man I was once called an instigator and another time told “You always have great ideas.” Now I’m starting to learn how to implement them, part of which is just editing. I have too many ideas and it takes deciding which ones to flesh out and actually go after to get anywhere. So… I thought I’d do an idea dump for next year’s Burn for which I’m already geysering schemes.

1. Shoot my Dust to Dust documentary on the building and dismantling of Black Rock City. I wasn’t planning on doing this for a couple more years, but the 2010 theme of The Metropolis is just about as perfect as they come for this project. I’d like to do it big, but I’m going to have to be adaptable and do whatever ends up being possible. It may well mean two or more months in the desert. I’m okay with that. Why? Because DPW chicks are hot. You ladies know who you are. Raaaaawr!
2. Cloudburst art car. Probably not a 2010 project. It doesn’t particularly fit the theme and its going to take a lot of friggin’ work, which is why its worth starting to think about now even if its a ways off. The idea? Similar to the Hope and Fear flowers by the Do Lab only instead of turning cranes into giant flowers turning a crane platform into a giant floating cloud capable of dumping rain on participants and throwing lightning bolts at night. So yeah, like I said, lots of money and work, but totally possible and totally cool.
3. BRC manholes. Pretty simple. Create and install manholes in BRC. Designing covers would be fun and putting things underneath them could make for fun surprises. Again kind of hard though, forging metal and all. Heavy shit too. Fits the theme though.
4. An urban exploration exhibit. Ideally I’d like to create a drain simulator, but I think that’s hella ambitious. Instead it’d be much easier to throw up some big backlit urbex photographs, maybe some videos on old TVs and some writeups and reflections on the unseen and abandoned city. I think this one could be fun, combining two of my favourite things – definitely not a solo project.
5. Rampage. Just like the video game of ages past. Build a city out of say foam and let people rampage through it wreaking massive urban destruction. Fun.

So yeah, there’s a few, and I just found out about the theme a couple of days ago. God help me as the year goes on and my brain churns more and more.

Bubble Bubble, Click Clack & Tumble Dry

The innaugural trip to the laundromat/scriptwriting session was an unabashed success. I got a bunch of my clothes cleaned and added two or three pages to my Real Santa script. Win/win. Doing laundry at home is so passe. There is shit all to do at the laundromat except to watch clothes spin (ever notice how washing machines at laundromats always have clear windows to look through – that’s why), unless of course you bring something with you. My laptop sans Internet is actually a productive machine instead of a distraction machine. The lack of distractions is a magic incantation that allows me to actually get myself into “The Zone” and just let the characters and scenarios flow out of me like soap at the end of the wash cycle.

I also took a trip to the Salvation Army this morning to pick up some last minute supplies for the burn and as happens left with more than I planned. I bought my roommate a super 8 previewer to encourage her to shoot more small gauge film. She just got her first reels back yesterday and was tickled pink to watch them on my previewer.

I also got a hair dryer despite the fact that I have NO hair. Its for FrostBurn, the Philly winter regional burn. I’m going to get a campsite with electricity, a long extension cord and a holster. Anyone who looks like they need a hot air infusion just has to open their coat. Yes, I keep the ladies warm at night. There were three suitable dryers, but this one has a transparent plastic casing so it actually glows when you use it. Sexy.

The one item I didn’t get that I’m feeling a bit of remorse for was a beautiful lamp, gold coloured with four flower petal shaped sockets. The glass from the petals was half gone but would be really easy to replace with… keyboard circuit boards. It’d be pretty sexy. I’m in a major rush though, I have to pack, I have to sort out the propane situation. But… Maybe I should go get it. IF I can haggle the dumbass manager down from his ridiculous $35 price tag.

No, I let it go. No need to waste time going back. Priorities. Burning Man. That’s all that’s left on my platter now. Departure in 4 hours…

Today’s Walk – Aug 20

Found an interesting spot for a photoshoot. A paint/detailing garage that was like a big white light box. A fun place to shoot a model on a car maybe, perhaps body paint making it look like the model and the car were merging.

Also found a cute little playground that had a waterpark that was activated by pressing the top of a pylon sticking out of the ground.

A few interesting vantage points.

I’ve got things to do but I also have things to process. A lot of things.

Its a shame chaos has such a negative connotation in our society today, because really what isn’t chaos? Chaos is change and change can be good or bad. Often we get confused as to which is which.

Today I think is the first day that it really hit me. I was paddling down the canal with ‘Lil Lady and she asked me what I was going to do, and there were two answers really. There were all the things that bubbled up that I’ve been thinking about doing, super 8 tourism videos for Montreal, busker festivals, wedding and kitesurfing videos in the Carribean. But there was another set of… more intangible answers than that. More of a feeling. A sense that everything was going to change. Really. Everything.

From over a decade of working for other people to just doing it myself. Not only that but the unparalleled freedom to just pick up and go anywhere.

I spent an hour tumbling these thoughts this afternoon. As exciting as it is to have so much change rolling all around me sometimes I feel like I’d rather just spend my days curled up with someone special, soaking up filtered rays from the sun. I really feel like David vs. Goliath sometimes.

Like Midnight Poutine camp. Did I ever expect it to be something this big and complicated? Did I ever really want that? As with the question about working there are two answers, yes I did expect it and want it, but in truth I had no idea what I was getting into. So it goes with these big moments in life I suppose, where you jump into a new career, a new school, a whole new kettle of fish. I just haven’t had this much change… it feels like I’ve never faced this much change.

It feels good though. To have such a clear outlook on the kind of life I want to lead, even if the details are completely unknown. I could end up anywhere, doing anything, but I know what my values will be, what kind of life I want to lead and what kind of example I want to give. I want to give in the unique way that only I can. Countless people can check someone onto a flight at the airport and it will be much the same for each. My goal is to have more personal, substantial effects on the world around me. “Window or aisle.” will no longer be the extent of the choices I’m empowered to give.

I have other things to say, about my 5-List and how its helping me not only to get things done, but to put my priorities in perspective. How for a long time I tricked myself into thinking I was enlightened on the subject of not fretting over the future when really I’d just masked it. Being much more conscious of me, my beliefs, my thoughts, and my emotions. Even more, always, every day.

We can call it a spiritual growth-spurt perhaps. That’s what it feels like. Some of it is easy and exciting. Other things are difficult and scary. But going back to the old ways is not an option.

Work as Play

That was the title of a blog entry on Zen Habits recently and I’m realising that I’m starting to live it, I’m also starting to live another principle from an article on that site and others which is to reduce, reduce, reduce until you can focus on just a few things.

As I decide what I want to do with my time I’m starting to find that I’m much more interested in doing things like scriptwriting or editing videos and photos than I am in going out for beers or watching a movie. I want to work. I want to produce. Its no longer a chore. Going out for beers with people is becoming more of a chore than work. Yeah I still like going out for beers, but not as much, there’s work to be done. Fun work! Even Burning Man is becoming dull and a distraction compared to other things I could be doing with my time.

Maybe school crushed me, maybe it was the corporate world, whatever it was I’m breaking free, strand by strand.

“Some people have real jobs.”