Dear Earth,

We, the people of the USA, are finally getting our shit together. We’re actually practicing democracy by taking direct responsibility for ourselves.

We’ve always been in power here but have inappropriately allowed our beliefs and behaviors to be determined by financial syndicates, military industrial complexes, fanatical religious bigots, schlock manufacturers, elitist empire builders and spooky conspirators. Sorry about that.

Fortunately it looks like we’re learning how to pay attention, be grateful for basic things and take care of each other. We are striving to feel, think and act not only in our own best interest, but in the collective best interest of all life on this shared and finite planet.

Thanks for your patience and please standby.

Deutsch

Liebe Erde,

Wir, das Volk der USA, sind endlich unsere Scheißezusammen. Wir sind tatsächlich funktionierende Demokratiedurch die direkte Verantwortung für uns.

Wir haben immer an der Macht hier waren, aber unangemessenkonnten unsere Einstellungen und Verhaltensweisen, die vonFinanz-Syndikate, militärisch-industriellen Komplexe,fanatische religiöse Eiferer, schlock Hersteller, elitäre ReichBauherren und spooky Verschwörer gefahren werden. Tut mir leid.

Zum Glück ist es wie wir lernen, wie darauf zu achten, sieht,dankbar sein für grundlegende Dinge und kümmern uns umeinander. Wir sind bestrebt, fühlen, denken und nicht nur inunserem eigenen Interesse, sondern im kollektiven Interesse aller Leben auf diesem gemeinsamen und endlichen Planetenhandeln.

Vielen Dank für Ihre Geduld und bitte Standby-Modus.

Française

Chère terre,

Nous, les gens des états unis d’Amérique, ont finalement réglé nos emmerdes. Nous pratiquons la démocratie en assumant directement nos responsabilités.

Nous avons toujours eu le pouvoir mais nous avons laissé nos comportements et réactions être guidées de façon inappropriée par les syndicats financiers, les complexes militaires industriels, les bigots religieux fanatiques, des bâtisseurs d’empire élitistes des commerciaux pas très clairs et des conspirateurs sinistres. Désolant.

Heureusement, on dirait que nous apprenons à faire attention, à respecter les choses basiques et à prendre soin des autres. Nous ressentons constamment, pensons et agissons pas seulement à nos fins personnelles, mais dans le meilleur intérêt collectif de toute vie sur cette planette partagée et limitée.

thanks for you patience and please standby

Translations by Kai Schwarz and Laurence Schroeder

She’s communing with the flox and vetch across the street, waiting for repairs. Patrick and I are converting a storage shed into a workshop and that’s where she’ll be before the snow flies. I’ll mend her over the winter.

Meanwhile, she’s watching over another exploration of sustainability – the Lauren di Scipio memorial vegetable garden.  I’ve followed the weed free (layer cake) method – with commercial organic soil in some beds and composted horse poop from Willy and Marijke Church in others. Unfortunately, the entire plot is shadowed by the backyard bluff and misses most of the morning sun. The corn patch is growing in a wedge shape, plants are progressively lower the closer they are to the bluff. There couldn’t be a clearer demonstration of solar power.

So what’s the prognosis for Around Lake Michigan, Search for Sustainable Civilizations? Will there be another expedition? What about posting movies from the rest of the 2010 expedition? What the hell has Dan Kelly been doing for the last year?!

After the 2010 expedition ended, I decided to leave NYC and return to Michigan full time. I enjoyed the summer on Crystal Lake, intent on posting the expedition movies and evaluating the project. The abrupt end of the sailing may have been more discouraging than I was able to admit, my passion for the project waned and… I got distracted.

In August, documentation of Gretchen Eichberger’s American Document flowed into discussions about starting a performance company, which ultimately triggered a traumatic misunderstanding. Though our friendship has bounced back, we’ve since steered clear of any significant collaborations.

In September the lads and I joined my brother Mike for a trip down the San Juan River in Utah. My no jet travel protocol and recent ALM experience prompted me to do a little trickstery critique of James Weston’s Africa documentary in November.

Speaking of James, my experience with Mykl Werth’s partner dance methodology started an extensive exploration of how Mykl’s classroom technique could be translated to video. We started in October but by the spring of 2011, disagreements with Mykl about the business model ended the project.

Also in September, the Trickster Pictures motion graphics show reel was re-activated, featuring work by myself and the Bear Lake Kelly brothers. We posted Version 0.9 in May of 2011.

From October 2010 – March 2011, I taught Tai Chi at Studio on Main in Frankfort, which Patrick and I have since moved to the house. Joe Cissel, Patrick and I were also teaching ourselves combat mime for most of the winter.

In the spring, I conned James into forming a production affinity group, the Michigan Movie Makers. After the first meeting, James was off to film school in Montana,  but fortunately a slew of other local production VIPs have stepped into the breach. M3 had a presence at the recent Traverse City Film Festival, and I ended up volunteering for the TCFF video team and helping to edit a video for the Awards Ceremony.

The inventory of distractions wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention the house I’d neglected for the last 6 years. The furnace was toast, skylights leaking, etc. Still some stabilization required before real weather returns.

In summary, in the fall of 2010 I made a commitment to focus on current projects and not start any new ones. The Gretchen and Mykl dalliances were definitely new business – and they both tanked. M3 is also new business but has been justified as support for my relocated production presence. The other initiatives were arguably old business and have reached various stages of completion. However the two most important pre-existing projects – Daughter of God and Around Lake Michigan – have not been touched!

I haven’t been eating lotus only, progress has been made on various fronts and life is good. I even have a steady girlfriend and the possibility of an instant family.

But… I’m done with distractions. Now let’s be a laser beam, it’s time to make my movies. Since DOG has been on the back burner the longest, it’s first in the queue.

ALM is right after DOG. If we count the reconstruction of Hello World this fall, ALM will be happening concurrently to some degree. The next expedition of ALM will have to be re-thought if it’s going to accommodate sailing, movie making and distribution all at once. After Fukushima, I’ve been thinking about all those reactors I sailed by. What chance does a powered down civilization have surrounded by nuclear bombs? 10,000 years of toxic threat seems pretty daunting, maybe ALM needs a tighter focus.

I have thoughts about On Desire.

For now, just know that I am thinking.

Premise

Climbing high above a menacing mega-weather system, the VIP passengers aboard the Execu-jet attempt an escape to gentler climes, anticipating warm backrubs and frosty cocktails. Hubris! Even the mighty kerosene sucking turbo engines cannot forever loft such a heavy burden of sin! The weighty karma of their own greedy excess, their wanton spilling of carbon into the atmosphere and flippant sabotage of the global life support system drags them down. As if judged by the ancient gods, a bolt of rogue lightning strikes! Down, down into the swirling siphon perhaps to ditch in the flood waters or be smashed into jelly upon a mountain side. Fin.

Climate Change is a spin off of my Power Down PSA.

When my pals James and Jamaica were invited to document a travel boondoggle disguised as right livelihood, I felt compelled to whip up an editorial video. This didn’t stop the travel or even jam the hype, but I’m glad I spoke up. I’ve since been contacted by others who were also annoyed by the project’s premise, so at least I’m not the lone curmudgeon.

<digression>

Is it possible to carve out a profitable niche in “green” industries and services? Can we convert our environmental debts into the comfortable currency of convenience and excess? How can we repair the global life support system if we’re not ready to abandon some familiar habits? Clearly, what we’ve been conditioned to think of as good and proper just isn’t. Hamlet, you have drunk your death.

I hear coffee enemas are good for you, but sucking the stuff down daily ain’t, period. Shipping beans or any other commodity around the world certainly isn’t healthy for the planet – check this container ship presentation. Riding your bike to work every morning will never make up for your vacation jet flight. If you’re going to process organic food, pay local growers more than California growers. Be on guard against activist arrogance – we can’t trade our good works for privilege. Beware of environmental leaders with large families, they need to hustle to feed all those kids. We’ve got real work to do and willful ignorance isn’t helping. I’m willing to be somewhat diplomatic and gentle in explaining the situation, but to those who assert their personal agenda over global survival, watch out.

</digression>

I shot the jet footage at Cherry Capital Airport and wanted to wipe out the plane’s registration numbers so I wouldn’t need a release. It was unlikely that the owners of the jet would gang up with the boondogglers and retaliate, but better safe than sorry. Another job for After Effects! I mucked my way through and the results were… good enough!

Unmarked plane, ready for a rendition run

When I was stabilizing the footage for the registration erasure, I wondered how the jet would look without it’s background. Weeks later, I was refreshing my roto chops with Pete O’Connell’s tutorials and needed some footage to practice with. The jet seemed ideal. After a rough roto extraction of the jet from the airport, I played with new backgrounds, including a trippy swirl that seemed to suck the stabilized jet in. That sketch became the basis for Climate Change.

Rough roto and the original vortex

The difference between a rough and a refined roto turned out to be about 3 days more work. The new roto tightened up the edges and wiped out the landing gear.

I also added a strobe flash, based on strobe from the original footage.

Lightning strikes are a bit of cliche, but so are apocalyptic images generally. Never mind that the plane is flying above the weather system, gimme some of that special Hollywood sauce! Extensive experimentation with various plugins eventually led to Sapphire’s S_ Zapto for the lightning and S_Glownoise for the dancing glow of rain on an electrically charged fuselage.

Jonathan and Patrick (experienced 3D modelers) both suggested that the plane’s movement was unrealistic, while James Weston (airplane pilot and flight instructor) was fine with the movement. Jeff wanted me to loose the rain streaks, he thought that broke the shot. The feedback was all over the place, so I decided to not make any changes. Maybe it is a little over the top. Jonathan thought the scene would work if it were pushed to be either totally over the top or totally realistic. I’ll ponder that when we plan the next release.

For What, I’ll start with a broad sweep of the brush. Party : a gathering of people whose only agenda is to be, together.  Note that punctuation. Since this definition suits both mystic and fascist it’s really no definition at all. The trick is to forget about meaning and just feel it’s flow and rhythm, beat style. Parties are subtle and wonderful phenomena, too slippery for pointy fingers. To name it is to miss it, methinks.

As we turn to Why, remember – no matter how filthy pedants might scribble and peck, a thousand answers to Why doesn’t tell us anything about What. The Whys are worthy of review, so here’s a few.

Why I keep having parties

Introducing Dan Kelly

I left Michigan in 2003 to level up from mere traitor to full on terrorist. After a year wandering in the wilderness, I perched in Brooklyn, New York until the summer of 2010. After busting Hello World 30 miles north of Chicago during Expedition 2 of the Search for Sustainable Civilizations, I decided to pull a prodigal and return to Michigan full time. Mostly I wanted my trees, sunny dunes and snowy frozen lake back. Who could’ve guessed that while I was elsewhere, the north woods would sprout a thick and mossy mat of arts, (specifically dance + movies), to rival what I’d been soaking up out east? And even more painters!

Inexorable awakening had swept the scene. Kids who were just 13 in 2003 are now legal to drink and debauch. The hoary exploits of Dan Kelly are half remembered myths, fables to keep naughty children in check, dreams of a bygone age. I am a stranger to the tribe.

May I introduce myself? Party’s are one method of milieu re-entry, a way to take the stage and give the gift of my heretical healing. Say ‘hey’ to a more hep and perhaps humbler Dan Kelly, one of the hero’s thousand faces. I’m back and ready to boogie shoes with u.

Reason to Clean

Having the house clean and organized feels wonderful, but I don’t always give that gift to myself. Since I’m obsessed with wrapping legacy movie projects, domestic messes get deferred until visitors show up.  Messes range from routine maintenance (like dishes, laundry) to ineffective resources (enigmatic pantry, disheveled library).

Major infrastructure issues (busted furnace, foundation failure) always take priority over mere messes. The house has several infrastructure vulnerability stop gaps in process, (bare wallboard, untrimmed skylights) so an immaculate environment is not possible, the best I can do is an uncluttered, cozy and hygienic space. If guests get the impression that I am not a total slob, that’s a win.

When parties loom, I can usually handle all the routine maintenance and at least one inefficiency. The pantry was the Rabbit Party’s achievement (February 5, 2011), there was an extensive library purge for the Lunar Eclipse and Winter Solstice gathering (December 20, 2010) and for the American Document Afterglow (August 28, 2010) I built lofts. Maybe I’ll handle the killer robot that lurks in the garage next.

Community building

We are cruising into some seriously strange times. With luck the American empire will drift off in a delicious plume of feathery dust, as opposed to crashing down in a cascade of tumbling concrete and jagged rebar. In any case, the coherency of the tribe will see us through.  By playing together we become aware of the robust inventory of capabilities, experience and knowledge available in our local community. We flash on the possibilities offered by creative recombination of our diverse powers and gifts. We understand who is a facilitator and who needs a pinch of catalyst.

Parties are driven by the innovators, the adventurers, the dreamers of dreams and the makers, the manifestors. There’s a couple or three sweet utopias sparkling among the razor black shards of apocalypse, and parties point a path through. Amidst the multiplicitous futurez, party people stride towards bright survival. We practice sticking together and improvising on the edge of experience.

Parties as Production

The Trickster Pictures blog is subtitled, “the party people who love to movie.”  Both parties and movie productions require organization, preparation, an awesome cast/crew and superb locations. The main players’ competency, personal charisma and panache support everyone involved/attending. The gathered gestalt must be able to flow and flex with improvisational aplomb. Throwing parties is useful not only as a exercise of logistical fortes, but as a practice of the subtle social dynamics essential to excellence in movie making.

Parties as Art

The juicy stuff. Dancing and live music can happen in both parties and works of theater. Party people might even be performers – either professionally or by inclination. Unlike theater, a party doesn’t distinguish between performers and audience. Everyone shows off, pulls a boner, gets a surprise, is enchanted, falls in love, pratfalls. Probably the most intriguing and generally appealing of my personal Whys, certainly deserving of it’s very own post.

“Did you have fun?” “It was the partyest!”

“No he’s not an artist, he’s a partyst.

… and don’t forget a heaping helping of genocide on our own frontiers and the overthrow of a slew of democratically elected governments where there’s stuff we want, like Haiti, Iran, Congo… Do we really need to “win the future”? Winning is fine for games like chess, soccer and Wii but it doesn’t really scale up to the global, we’re just too interconnected.

I came out of class late last night, and the rhetoric of returning America to her former dominance was all I heard. Phawg!

We’ll be watching the aurora borealis forecast too.

In the distant past I had posted about Grizzly Man, another Herzog project which I have yet to see. It’s supposedly about a kid who get’s eaten by the bears he loves. Since “Grizzly” isn’t an instant watch on Netflix, I figured “Encounters” would be a tasty appetizer. Now I’m really not looking forward to the entree.

This brings me to why I want to have parties. I’m all aglow about community building here in Michigan, about pooling artistic resources to become more than the sum of our parts. Making movies requires diverse talent. Gathering and taking inventory of regional creatives is key. It’s simple really. Who can have fun, who’s into living life? Parties are about social play and digging the moment. I know I can build a future with folks who like to laugh.

We’ve got a world to save, we’ve got to evolve and how. Sad old boors like Werner Herzog are not going to get the job done. We need vital folks for that, folks who have the human game sussed. Party people.