why did I shoot that tiger?

Its been a burst of productivity.

In the last few days I got all my ducks in a line, as they say; booked a flight ticket for Japan, read up on the trans-siberian journey, cleaned my room (hmm, wasn't quite the herculean task I thought it was), sold / gave away some shit, and (most importantly), I edited down all the footage that I have lying about.

I don't know why I didn't jump on the editing sooner, its really very satisfying; compare this to taking footage, which is a lot of hard work -- days of shooting taking 5-6 hours with a team, actors, lights, camera work, bickering, tired looks, cleaning up the set (because its someone else apt) -- editing is a few hours of zen when is all comes together. You start with a story as screen play, which is then deconstruction into a sequence of scenes / shots. At the level of actually making each shot, with all the minutia involved in capturing good footage (which can be a zen all itself), its hard to keep the story in mind. But in editing, the story is reconstructed, but now as film. I compare the final footage to what I saw as I was writing the screen play, and its not too off. A small, but distinct, victory.

The lesson is, a well written shot list gives you the peace of mind during the shooting that it will all come together in the end. maybe.

neue, new, knew, gnew

new snack: sardines pack in herb infused olive oil from the hasdic market; et on top of toast, quick, fast, healthy for the body, protein for muscles, fish oil for the mind -- environmentally responsible as well. let us all leverage the miracle that are small fish, these shards of fish consciousness incarnated to the size of our fingers.

new obsession: blade runner; it always plays in the background of my computer. nowadays i play the rooftop scene right before i go to bed so that rutger hauer can croon me to sleep, "all these moments lost, like tears in the rain ... time ... to ... die" and i am out cold before the white dove flies out of his cold, replicant hands.

new transportation: bike, i am getting pretty reckless; today i cross infront of a car trying to make a right turn -- he/she had the right of way, but they were being slow about it. apparently a cop was yelling at me about it, but i didn't hear em. should be a more careful, a summons would really harsh my mellow.

new mode of life: getting rid of stuff, rather than acquiring it. taking inventory is a great way to tangibly feel that one should really consider before buying another thing again. these things slough off and settle like dead skins cells making some sort of macro 'dust bunnies' in the attics/crawl spaces of our homes.

new procrastinational material: editing footage, trip planning. as much i like to travel i hate planning for it. i prefer to just see where the wind takes me. but this time, with schedules and other people to meet up with, it will have to be different.

I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate

Its been 3.5 non-job week days so far; rather than a listless feeling of grasping for things to do, I feel pretty jammed up with the logistics of visas/taxes/moving out. The disorganization of my life and room has an inertia all its own and turning it about feel a bit steering the titanic. Its no coincidence that the Herculean task was to clean (Aegean stables or whatever). I've been thinking, without too much success yet, on how to streamline my life; to glide through like a trout in a mountain creek.

"you don't own things, the things own you" -- this statement is beginning to have visceral impact now.

In terms of the film, we wrapped up the first NYC scene; I need to set up the computer in my room for editing and get a rough cut of how it looks. One more thing to put on the to-do list. Shot some footage staring my roommate Marie for another very short thing I would like to do right before I leave.

Although, I am not complaining, the weathers been great, I wish I cancelled my monthly pass earlier, I've been biking everywhere. Speaking of which, off to the Chinese consulate to pick up (hopefully) my visa.