After exploring several post-industrial cities in Europe, Philip and I knew we’d have to check out the cities on our side of the pond. It was just a matter of finding the time, because, if you recall, gallivanting around Europe was no easy task.
Late one Tuesday night, in the midst of shooting our Detroit B-Roll, Philip found an unexpected break in our wall-to-wall schedule. Even though, we were swamped with an endless list of city shots, technically, we didn't have any concrete meetings until Friday. So if we postponed our B-Roll for 2 ½ days...
He looked up from his computer, “wanna drive to Buffalo tomorrow?”
Talk about short notice.
No plans, no directions, no place to stay...
Yeah, let’s do it.
2 ½ days…
Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Cleveland…
We hopped in Philip’s mom’s fuel-efficient VW Beatle, fired up the ol’ smart phone, and headed across the border.
I searched for profiles on Couch Surfer that had “photography” as an interest, and once we connected with the locals, they pointed us toward the abandoned factories.
Unfortunately, our last minute notice didn’t result in any open couches to sleep on, but oh well- after a full day of driving and shooting, a reclined seat in the rest stop parking lot was a godsend. …even in a Beatle.
(Rest assured kickstarters: we ain’t spendin’ your generous donations on froufrou hotel rooms; at this point, every penny we save goes directly into cooler things… like, color correction… or gas).
Highlights of the road trip include: the police searching our car at the Canadian border, authentic Buffalo wings, and winding through the tiny steel towns of Pennsylvania…
But I guess the best highlight is the footage. We got everything we needed, and we were back in Detroit with time to spare on Friday afternoon.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Detroit interviews pt 2
“I’m just a guy who gives a fuck”
…that’s what Zone 8 Thug turned neighborhood activist Yusef Shakur told us.
Yusef grew up on the streets surrounded by drugs, violence and prostitution, and not in a good way. Shortly after dropping out of high school, he was sent to prison for nine years; his life was over. Trapped in an institution that perpetuates the thug mentality, there was no hope. …Until one day, a prison transfer reunited him with the mentor his inner child needed most- his father.
Yusef and his father rekindled their relationship, and just like that, Yusef turned his life around. He finished his GED, got out of prison, and returned to the ‘hood that had raised him to start a community center. It’s part café, part bookstore, and part computer center. It’s a safe haven for kids to hang after school; and with the block parties he helps organize, it’s Yusef’s way of “restoring the neighbor back to the ‘hood.”
Mark Convington might not have an epic life story like Yusef’s… In fact, he wasn’t even trying to become a community leader when he cleaned up a vacant lot. Mark just wanted to plant a few vegetables to discourage people from dumping trash, but before he knew it, neighbors were pitching in, kids were learning how to farm, and the sprawling garden was providing healthy food for all.
If there’s anyone who believes in the power of these vacant lots and abandoned buildings, it’s Dan Pitera and his team of architects. They’ve committed to restoring purpose to these forgotten places. In one old house, they removed an entire exterior wall and added outdoor seating for a project they call ‘the playhouse.’
Dan will be the first to admit- they can’t just turn these spaces into anything they want; they need to listen to the people, and make spaces the community will use.
That’s why people like Vince Keenan spearhead voter education programs to make sure the people have a voice for the change happening in their neighborhoods.
Vince is currently promoting the Council By Districts initiative. If it passes, each district will have equal representation in City Hall and those representatives will actually have to live in the district they serve.
In Brightmoor, we toured a church where the pastor has committed to serving everyone- believers, non-believers… he built his church for everyone. So instead of a sanctuary, the congregation invested in a gymnasium. They set it up for services on Sundays, but every other day of the week, it’s a safe place to play.
The city has a lot of potential, and according to Free Press journalist John Gallagher, it’s just a matter of “Re-imagining Detroit” (hey, that’s the title of his book!).
Gallagher promotes ideas that embrace the shrinking population, like tearing up under utilized roads to make way for “greenways,” putting more resources into urban farming, and even “daylighting” forgotten streams that were paved over when the industrial revolution took foot.
A lot of these bigger projects take time and money. But as local small crepe shop owner, Torya Blanchard, told a lecture hall of University of Michigan business students (and I’m paraphrasing here)… all you need to succeed is a good idea and a good accountant, so stop wasting your money, drop out of business school, and do it.
That’s how Torya opened her crepe shop; she cashed out her retirement, took out a bunch of loans, and now she owns three restaurants in the Detroit area. She believes small businesses promoting growth at the neighborhood level are going to save this town; we just need more ideas and more people to act on them.
One solution didn't focus on a growing economy at all.
Grace Lee Boggs is a 96-year old political activist who marched with Martin Luther King and collaborated with Malcolm X. According to her, people need to focus first on "growing their souls." It's an approach that might seem unconventional at first, but when a woman who’s seen as much as she has says it, you better listen.
…that’s what Zone 8 Thug turned neighborhood activist Yusef Shakur told us.
Yusef grew up on the streets surrounded by drugs, violence and prostitution, and not in a good way. Shortly after dropping out of high school, he was sent to prison for nine years; his life was over. Trapped in an institution that perpetuates the thug mentality, there was no hope. …Until one day, a prison transfer reunited him with the mentor his inner child needed most- his father.
Yusef and his father rekindled their relationship, and just like that, Yusef turned his life around. He finished his GED, got out of prison, and returned to the ‘hood that had raised him to start a community center. It’s part café, part bookstore, and part computer center. It’s a safe haven for kids to hang after school; and with the block parties he helps organize, it’s Yusef’s way of “restoring the neighbor back to the ‘hood.”
Mark Convington might not have an epic life story like Yusef’s… In fact, he wasn’t even trying to become a community leader when he cleaned up a vacant lot. Mark just wanted to plant a few vegetables to discourage people from dumping trash, but before he knew it, neighbors were pitching in, kids were learning how to farm, and the sprawling garden was providing healthy food for all.
If there’s anyone who believes in the power of these vacant lots and abandoned buildings, it’s Dan Pitera and his team of architects. They’ve committed to restoring purpose to these forgotten places. In one old house, they removed an entire exterior wall and added outdoor seating for a project they call ‘the playhouse.’
Dan will be the first to admit- they can’t just turn these spaces into anything they want; they need to listen to the people, and make spaces the community will use.
That’s why people like Vince Keenan spearhead voter education programs to make sure the people have a voice for the change happening in their neighborhoods.
Vince is currently promoting the Council By Districts initiative. If it passes, each district will have equal representation in City Hall and those representatives will actually have to live in the district they serve.
In Brightmoor, we toured a church where the pastor has committed to serving everyone- believers, non-believers… he built his church for everyone. So instead of a sanctuary, the congregation invested in a gymnasium. They set it up for services on Sundays, but every other day of the week, it’s a safe place to play.
The city has a lot of potential, and according to Free Press journalist John Gallagher, it’s just a matter of “Re-imagining Detroit” (hey, that’s the title of his book!).
Gallagher promotes ideas that embrace the shrinking population, like tearing up under utilized roads to make way for “greenways,” putting more resources into urban farming, and even “daylighting” forgotten streams that were paved over when the industrial revolution took foot.
A lot of these bigger projects take time and money. But as local small crepe shop owner, Torya Blanchard, told a lecture hall of University of Michigan business students (and I’m paraphrasing here)… all you need to succeed is a good idea and a good accountant, so stop wasting your money, drop out of business school, and do it.
That’s how Torya opened her crepe shop; she cashed out her retirement, took out a bunch of loans, and now she owns three restaurants in the Detroit area. She believes small businesses promoting growth at the neighborhood level are going to save this town; we just need more ideas and more people to act on them.
One solution didn't focus on a growing economy at all.
Grace Lee Boggs is a 96-year old political activist who marched with Martin Luther King and collaborated with Malcolm X. According to her, people need to focus first on "growing their souls." It's an approach that might seem unconventional at first, but when a woman who’s seen as much as she has says it, you better listen.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
…And we’re back
I didn’t journal much when I was in Europe; I blogged. Now, it’s the opposite.
I’ll find a balance someday. Until then, let's get caught up.
We’re well into the editing process on the movie, so stay tuned for post about...
Week Two of the Detroit Interviews, Exploring America's Rust Belt (in a VW bug), and the Joys of Editing at 4am.
I’ll find a balance someday. Until then, let's get caught up.
We’re well into the editing process on the movie, so stay tuned for post about...
Week Two of the Detroit Interviews, Exploring America's Rust Belt (in a VW bug), and the Joys of Editing at 4am.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Ranch Dressing (Michigan’s ketchup)
I’m really behind with this journal.
While Poland was part work and part vacation, filming in Detroit is part work and another part work. Detroit Lives! has a lot more going on than this film- and with a few different art fairs this weekend, last week was intense. Philip had to print about 300 shirts. Converting the basement studio into a mini assembly line where we could work and sing along to REM’s “Monster” wouldn’t normally be such a chore. But, of course, we couldn’t start that work, until we had finished this work…
Detroit Interviews: Week One
Detroit needs money; Detroit needs business… So we spoke to the head of Tech Town: a business incubator that helps startups get off the ground. Partnering with Wayne State University, they have the resources to help everyone from the little guy printing bumper stickers to scientists breaking new ground in biomedical research.
Philip Cooley, a local restaurant owner, is fostering his own sort of creative incubator. By buying an abandoned factory, he’s fixing it up to house creative ventures, like Adriana Pavon’s fashion design studio, with the expectation that his residents spend some of their time mentoring local youth.
Detroit is reclaiming some of its old business community as well. Skidmore Studios flocked to the suburbs a few decades ago, but now, government incentives and city tax breaks make the move back Downtown a no-brainer for owner Tim Smith. Plus, his new offices are going to have a sweet view of Comerica Park.
Some people might ask- “why do businesses get tax breaks while the city is forced to lay off police officers?” Well, we spoke to one Internet entrepreneur who, among other ideas, is proposing a tax system involving an interactive “Sim City” type map where taxpayers could choose where their funds are allocated.
Detroit Soup is one way to see how community money is being spent (it’s also a way to GET some community money). This micro-funding platform is a monthly dinner open to the public where people pay $10 at the door and anyone can pitch their ideas for community improvement projects. At the end, everyone votes, and the winner gets the door. Past winners include a fashion designer who wanted to produce coats that convert into sleeping bags for the homeless and transforming a vacant lot into a sculpture park.
City beautification doesn’t cost much at all. Chazz Miller with Public Art Workz convinced the owner of a run-down factory to rent him the space for nothing more than the cost of fixing it up. Now, the factory has become an entire compound for artists as they paint murals around town, teach classes and mentor kids. And their activity has even spurred development of other storefronts on the block.
Then there’s the Heidelberg Project- a block of rotting houses that became home to an eccentric artist in the mid-80s. He painted one house with polka dots, then he built sculptures out of rusted shopping carts or whatever else he could find… then he painted another house, he covered another with thrown-out stuffed animals… 25 years later, thousands of tourists come to visit, kids hang out to learn how to paint, and the locals pitch in to keep it looking nice. That’s neighborhood pride.
While Poland was part work and part vacation, filming in Detroit is part work and another part work. Detroit Lives! has a lot more going on than this film- and with a few different art fairs this weekend, last week was intense. Philip had to print about 300 shirts. Converting the basement studio into a mini assembly line where we could work and sing along to REM’s “Monster” wouldn’t normally be such a chore. But, of course, we couldn’t start that work, until we had finished this work…
Detroit Interviews: Week One
Detroit needs money; Detroit needs business… So we spoke to the head of Tech Town: a business incubator that helps startups get off the ground. Partnering with Wayne State University, they have the resources to help everyone from the little guy printing bumper stickers to scientists breaking new ground in biomedical research.
Philip Cooley, a local restaurant owner, is fostering his own sort of creative incubator. By buying an abandoned factory, he’s fixing it up to house creative ventures, like Adriana Pavon’s fashion design studio, with the expectation that his residents spend some of their time mentoring local youth.
Detroit is reclaiming some of its old business community as well. Skidmore Studios flocked to the suburbs a few decades ago, but now, government incentives and city tax breaks make the move back Downtown a no-brainer for owner Tim Smith. Plus, his new offices are going to have a sweet view of Comerica Park.
Some people might ask- “why do businesses get tax breaks while the city is forced to lay off police officers?” Well, we spoke to one Internet entrepreneur who, among other ideas, is proposing a tax system involving an interactive “Sim City” type map where taxpayers could choose where their funds are allocated.
Detroit Soup is one way to see how community money is being spent (it’s also a way to GET some community money). This micro-funding platform is a monthly dinner open to the public where people pay $10 at the door and anyone can pitch their ideas for community improvement projects. At the end, everyone votes, and the winner gets the door. Past winners include a fashion designer who wanted to produce coats that convert into sleeping bags for the homeless and transforming a vacant lot into a sculpture park.
City beautification doesn’t cost much at all. Chazz Miller with Public Art Workz convinced the owner of a run-down factory to rent him the space for nothing more than the cost of fixing it up. Now, the factory has become an entire compound for artists as they paint murals around town, teach classes and mentor kids. And their activity has even spurred development of other storefronts on the block.
Then there’s the Heidelberg Project- a block of rotting houses that became home to an eccentric artist in the mid-80s. He painted one house with polka dots, then he built sculptures out of rusted shopping carts or whatever else he could find… then he painted another house, he covered another with thrown-out stuffed animals… 25 years later, thousands of tourists come to visit, kids hang out to learn how to paint, and the locals pitch in to keep it looking nice. That’s neighborhood pride.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
the passing of a Detroit great
We start the bulk of our interviews this week, and just like Poland we’re going nonstop for two weeks, often sitting down with three people in one day. Same drill: politicians, artists, entrepreneurs…
It’s unfortunate that one artist we’ll never get the chance to talk to. David Blair was a poet and songwriter who had moved to Detroit 15 years ago, and it was clear from the start, this man was more than an autoworker. The way he worked with words… simply amazing. About a year ago, Philip interviewed him for another project and developed a friendship with him. But just as Philip returned from Europe, looking forward to reconnect with him, he got word that Blair had passed away.
Using the old footage, we cut a piece to honor the man who had the ability to change the lyrical landscape of art… if only he had a little more time. RIP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huWvgWihtXg&hd=1
And if you’re a fan of ‘The Simpsons,’ make sure to look up a video of his poem “My name is Karl.”
It’s unfortunate that one artist we’ll never get the chance to talk to. David Blair was a poet and songwriter who had moved to Detroit 15 years ago, and it was clear from the start, this man was more than an autoworker. The way he worked with words… simply amazing. About a year ago, Philip interviewed him for another project and developed a friendship with him. But just as Philip returned from Europe, looking forward to reconnect with him, he got word that Blair had passed away.
Using the old footage, we cut a piece to honor the man who had the ability to change the lyrical landscape of art… if only he had a little more time. RIP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huWvgWihtXg&hd=1
And if you’re a fan of ‘The Simpsons,’ make sure to look up a video of his poem “My name is Karl.”
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
back in the zone
It took all forms of transportation to get me out of Paris- a train to the north coast, a taxi to the port, a ferry to England, a bus to London…
My flight was early the next morning out of Heathrow, so when I was looking for a place to stay, the choice was a no-brainer: my very first couch surfing hosts! As I rolled my luggage down the narrow streets of Dulwich to Ramon and Ronald’s quaint townhouse, the trip came full circle. Ronald cooked dinner just like he had nearly two months ago, and as I ate and reminisced about the trip, it made me sorry I couldn’t do the same with everyone else I’d met on the trip.
I flew across the Atlantic, coming to terms with the fact that my European adventure was over (for now).
but no time to look back; I've got another half a documentary to shoot.
The sun was shining in good ol’ Detroit as Philip picked me up from the airport yesterday. Great to reunite with my long lost partner in crime. And great to get rid of some extra baggage I had been lugging around the past month…
I didn’t really buy souvenirs, but there was one item I HAD to get back to the states. It was my quest. It’s something Philip and I had been searching for ever since we set foot in Poland. So when the item was bestowed upon me only days after Philip had departed for the US, I knew I had a job to do- I had to get it back. It was huge, heavy and breakable, but everywhere I went, I carefully packed it into my suitcase. Didn’t matter if I got stopped at customs; I had to try. And after all that… it’s here...
…A giant jar of homemade polish pickles.
[thanks, Malwina ☺]
We kicked back and munched on the sweet dills as we swapped stories of the past month.
Later that evening, we headed to an event at the Detroit Creative Corridor Center (dc3). Philip’s company Detroit Lives! is going to be working with the dc3’s business incubator program. They’re setting him and other local entrepreneurs up with collaborative office space, connecting them with marketing experts, and doing whatever else they can to help these small ventures grow.
Philp and the other entrepreneurs got recognized, I got to meet a lot of the people we’re going to be interviewing for the documentary, and there was a kick-ass buffet with free drinks.
I think some people went to a bar afterward, but I wouldn’t know. I was asleep by 10.
It had been a long 48 hours of traveling. It had been a long two months.
Today, consider me on Eastern time.
My flight was early the next morning out of Heathrow, so when I was looking for a place to stay, the choice was a no-brainer: my very first couch surfing hosts! As I rolled my luggage down the narrow streets of Dulwich to Ramon and Ronald’s quaint townhouse, the trip came full circle. Ronald cooked dinner just like he had nearly two months ago, and as I ate and reminisced about the trip, it made me sorry I couldn’t do the same with everyone else I’d met on the trip.
I flew across the Atlantic, coming to terms with the fact that my European adventure was over (for now).
but no time to look back; I've got another half a documentary to shoot.
The sun was shining in good ol’ Detroit as Philip picked me up from the airport yesterday. Great to reunite with my long lost partner in crime. And great to get rid of some extra baggage I had been lugging around the past month…
I didn’t really buy souvenirs, but there was one item I HAD to get back to the states. It was my quest. It’s something Philip and I had been searching for ever since we set foot in Poland. So when the item was bestowed upon me only days after Philip had departed for the US, I knew I had a job to do- I had to get it back. It was huge, heavy and breakable, but everywhere I went, I carefully packed it into my suitcase. Didn’t matter if I got stopped at customs; I had to try. And after all that… it’s here...
…A giant jar of homemade polish pickles.
[thanks, Malwina ☺]
We kicked back and munched on the sweet dills as we swapped stories of the past month.
Later that evening, we headed to an event at the Detroit Creative Corridor Center (dc3). Philip’s company Detroit Lives! is going to be working with the dc3’s business incubator program. They’re setting him and other local entrepreneurs up with collaborative office space, connecting them with marketing experts, and doing whatever else they can to help these small ventures grow.
Philp and the other entrepreneurs got recognized, I got to meet a lot of the people we’re going to be interviewing for the documentary, and there was a kick-ass buffet with free drinks.
I think some people went to a bar afterward, but I wouldn’t know. I was asleep by 10.
It had been a long 48 hours of traveling. It had been a long two months.
Today, consider me on Eastern time.
Monday, July 11, 2011
let’s go
I have two speeds in life- frantic and stopped. In Paris, I got my share of both.
The first few days were something out of a Hemingway novel. I’d make coffee, camp out with the ex-pats at a quaint English bookstore, read, write, walk on the riverbank, drink, smoke, discuss the expanding universe and how insignificant life is…
But before long, it was time to shift gears. John and I were determined to make something of our time together, and when we first talked about my visit, he had said four words I can never argue with, “let’s make a movie.”
My Parisian lifestyle made it pretty easy to write the script, but that’s about the only thing that came easy. We had to hold auditions, buy props, borrow lights, not to mention, the script had to be translated (Like I’m not gonna capitalize on my chance to use pretentious French subtitles).
Then, my final two days in France, we had to shoot it… that’s when things really got crazy.
Our director of photography was a friend of John’s who films commercials for a living- a real pro. Just one problem: he barely spoke English. The actors playing the French characters were the same way.
Communication on set was a cluster-fuck buzzing around John-the-translator as everything had to be explained at least twice.
No time for rescheduling; no time for pickups; no time for explaining things twice! We had two days!
It was exhausting, it was frustrating… and it was totally worth it.
Don’t ask me when I’m going to have time to edit yet another movie.
I prefer frantic over stopped.
Maybe that’s why I don’t get along with Hemingway. For me, his stories just amount to a waste of time. Except for one- his very first short story- ‘Up in Michigan.’
Damn… that reminds me…
Next stop: Michigan.
The first few days were something out of a Hemingway novel. I’d make coffee, camp out with the ex-pats at a quaint English bookstore, read, write, walk on the riverbank, drink, smoke, discuss the expanding universe and how insignificant life is…
But before long, it was time to shift gears. John and I were determined to make something of our time together, and when we first talked about my visit, he had said four words I can never argue with, “let’s make a movie.”
My Parisian lifestyle made it pretty easy to write the script, but that’s about the only thing that came easy. We had to hold auditions, buy props, borrow lights, not to mention, the script had to be translated (Like I’m not gonna capitalize on my chance to use pretentious French subtitles).
Then, my final two days in France, we had to shoot it… that’s when things really got crazy.
Our director of photography was a friend of John’s who films commercials for a living- a real pro. Just one problem: he barely spoke English. The actors playing the French characters were the same way.
Communication on set was a cluster-fuck buzzing around John-the-translator as everything had to be explained at least twice.
No time for rescheduling; no time for pickups; no time for explaining things twice! We had two days!
It was exhausting, it was frustrating… and it was totally worth it.
Don’t ask me when I’m going to have time to edit yet another movie.
I prefer frantic over stopped.
Maybe that’s why I don’t get along with Hemingway. For me, his stories just amount to a waste of time. Except for one- his very first short story- ‘Up in Michigan.’
Damn… that reminds me…
Next stop: Michigan.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
i could live here
I’ve never wanted to visit Paris. I only went for two reasons: a friend and a free place to stay.
Slight problem: how to get there.
A week out, plane and train tickets were too expensive, so a friend in Duisburg helped me surf the European hitchhiking sites (or as they call it “ride sharing”). Brilliant. You plug in your destination, and it tells you all the people in your area who are driving there. I got in touch with a guy from France who was visiting his girlfriend for the weekend in Dusseldorf (the neighboring city of Duisburg), and after I slipped him 35€ for gas, we were on our way.
Of course, this traveling Frenchman’s a pro, so we stopped at two train stations along the way to pick up a couple more prearranged hitchhikers, but I didn’t mind – good excuse to see more towns in Germany and Belgium.
Arrived a little after 10pm, and met up with my good friend John. He moved to Paris almost seven years ago, and I hadn’t seen him in… well, almost seven years. Crazy. So awesome to reconnect. And like any friend from the old days, it seems exactly like the old days.
John’s got a tiny apartment in the heart of the city. It’s the kind of location where anyone, tourists and locals alike, would kill to live. Bars, museums, Notre Dame- they’re just outside his doorstep. However, it’s so tiny I’d have to sleep on the floor… so I’m not staying there.
The day I got into town, John’s friend, who lives around the corner, just happened to be leaving town… and she needed someone to feed her cat… and watch her apartment.
Oh. My. God.
Who says I suck at timing.
Right now, I’m sitting in my own apartment in the center of Paris. And I’ve got a cat.
Slight problem: how to get there.
A week out, plane and train tickets were too expensive, so a friend in Duisburg helped me surf the European hitchhiking sites (or as they call it “ride sharing”). Brilliant. You plug in your destination, and it tells you all the people in your area who are driving there. I got in touch with a guy from France who was visiting his girlfriend for the weekend in Dusseldorf (the neighboring city of Duisburg), and after I slipped him 35€ for gas, we were on our way.
Of course, this traveling Frenchman’s a pro, so we stopped at two train stations along the way to pick up a couple more prearranged hitchhikers, but I didn’t mind – good excuse to see more towns in Germany and Belgium.
Arrived a little after 10pm, and met up with my good friend John. He moved to Paris almost seven years ago, and I hadn’t seen him in… well, almost seven years. Crazy. So awesome to reconnect. And like any friend from the old days, it seems exactly like the old days.
John’s got a tiny apartment in the heart of the city. It’s the kind of location where anyone, tourists and locals alike, would kill to live. Bars, museums, Notre Dame- they’re just outside his doorstep. However, it’s so tiny I’d have to sleep on the floor… so I’m not staying there.
The day I got into town, John’s friend, who lives around the corner, just happened to be leaving town… and she needed someone to feed her cat… and watch her apartment.
Oh. My. God.
Who says I suck at timing.
Right now, I’m sitting in my own apartment in the center of Paris. And I’ve got a cat.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
music to my ears
Principle photography of the European portion is done. Awww yeah.
My new Duisburg friend Dirk showed me an awesome old steel factory that’s been converted into some sort of adventure park- the huge stonewalls are used for rock climbing classes, the giant cooling tanks have been converted into diving wells (15m deep), and the towering smokestacks give just about the perfect view of the industrial landscape. While photographing the smokestack skyline, we got caught in a downpour. No problem. I’m at the point where I can afford an extra day or so to wait out the rain.
Christoph returned from his holiday in Holland, and I moved my things to Dirk’s. (His place is bigger… and no joke, Christoph’s got an entire band scheduled to sleep on his couch. He said I’m welcome to stay too, but Christ, he’s got a one bedroom place and one couch… the band is 4 dudes plus two girlfriends).
Anyway… Dirk and I were hanging out on the balcony when I mentioned my fading guitar calluses. It’s a shame; as a beginner, it took me months to build those up, and now they’re almost all gone. That’s when Dirk said four magic words: ‘I have a guitar.’
Hallelujah
There isn’t anything I love more than playing music.
…But don’t worry- I wasn’t that duchebag who just starts strumming in the living room while everyone’s forced to listen.
The Duisburg library has a music room …with a grand piano. So the next day, we took the guitar. And the day after that, we did the same thing. Nothing fancy. In fact, Dirk didn’t even know how to play piano; I just showed him a couple chords (which he picked up surprisingly fast), and we played. ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane,’ ‘Sloop John B,’… all the hits.
The Duisburg rain passed, and when the sun came out, I rode around town one last time to get some pictures in the blue sky.
Movie- check.
On my last night in town, Christoph and I went to see that French band that was sleeping on his couch. They were playing at a bar down the street near the University of Duisburg-Essen. And, small world, we met up with a Pakistani guy who went to Michigan State. Crazy. He graduated a couple years ago and he’s here in Duisburg doing some post-grad work. Reminiscing about East Lansing is always a good time.
But back to the music…
I’m not going to talk it up too much, but ho-ly shit. These boys brought it. Experimental sounds, catchy riffs, and an energy like… shit, I don’t know what it was, but it was awesome- it’s like they steam-rolled the audience with a freight train of tribal percussion and driving synth. But as I walked away with the CD in my pocket, I was already anticipating the disappointment; there’s no way a producer at their level could capture even an ounce of that on an album.
And I was right. Oh well. Here’s a link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICKLMJCfLOY
Keep an eye out in the future. Those boys are going places.
So am I. I’m off to Paris today.
My new Duisburg friend Dirk showed me an awesome old steel factory that’s been converted into some sort of adventure park- the huge stonewalls are used for rock climbing classes, the giant cooling tanks have been converted into diving wells (15m deep), and the towering smokestacks give just about the perfect view of the industrial landscape. While photographing the smokestack skyline, we got caught in a downpour. No problem. I’m at the point where I can afford an extra day or so to wait out the rain.
Christoph returned from his holiday in Holland, and I moved my things to Dirk’s. (His place is bigger… and no joke, Christoph’s got an entire band scheduled to sleep on his couch. He said I’m welcome to stay too, but Christ, he’s got a one bedroom place and one couch… the band is 4 dudes plus two girlfriends).
Anyway… Dirk and I were hanging out on the balcony when I mentioned my fading guitar calluses. It’s a shame; as a beginner, it took me months to build those up, and now they’re almost all gone. That’s when Dirk said four magic words: ‘I have a guitar.’
Hallelujah
There isn’t anything I love more than playing music.
…But don’t worry- I wasn’t that duchebag who just starts strumming in the living room while everyone’s forced to listen.
The Duisburg library has a music room …with a grand piano. So the next day, we took the guitar. And the day after that, we did the same thing. Nothing fancy. In fact, Dirk didn’t even know how to play piano; I just showed him a couple chords (which he picked up surprisingly fast), and we played. ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane,’ ‘Sloop John B,’… all the hits.
The Duisburg rain passed, and when the sun came out, I rode around town one last time to get some pictures in the blue sky.
Movie- check.
On my last night in town, Christoph and I went to see that French band that was sleeping on his couch. They were playing at a bar down the street near the University of Duisburg-Essen. And, small world, we met up with a Pakistani guy who went to Michigan State. Crazy. He graduated a couple years ago and he’s here in Duisburg doing some post-grad work. Reminiscing about East Lansing is always a good time.
But back to the music…
I’m not going to talk it up too much, but ho-ly shit. These boys brought it. Experimental sounds, catchy riffs, and an energy like… shit, I don’t know what it was, but it was awesome- it’s like they steam-rolled the audience with a freight train of tribal percussion and driving synth. But as I walked away with the CD in my pocket, I was already anticipating the disappointment; there’s no way a producer at their level could capture even an ounce of that on an album.
And I was right. Oh well. Here’s a link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICKLMJCfLOY
Keep an eye out in the future. Those boys are going places.
So am I. I’m off to Paris today.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Grand Torino and the Mystic Ruhr River
As the home of Fiat manufacturing, Torino was once called “the Detroit of Italy.” But unlike Detroit, Torino has money. Their closed factories have been converted into public parks, bustling shopping centers, and condos where people actually live. It’s amazing. And while they spend a considerable amount embracing the architecture of their manufacturing past, they’re also deeply rooted in medieval Italian history. As the first capital of the nation, they’ve got castles, a 1,000-year old monastery, and a city gate dating back to 25 BC. This adventurer’s paradise also has four rivers, snow capped mountains on three sides, and the 2006 Olympic stadiums. Yes, it certainly is an undiscovered treasure. But as my host Antonello explained, since it’s so far from the typical destinations (Rome, Venice, Florence), not many tourists know about it.
Antonello and Debra are a couch surfing couple who put me up for two nights. Along with showing me where I can take the best photos, they also introduced me to the best places for gelato, beer, and real Italian pizza. The sky was cloudier than I would’ve liked for pictures, but at least the next wave of thunderstorms held off until my departure.
Another long journey…
The train up the Ruhr River to Duisburg, Germany was going to take about twelve hours. But as the tracks wound through the lakeside villages and foggy mountains of Switzerland, I stared out the window and watched the lightning kinda not wanting it to be over.
Like any other city where I don’t know anyone, I had contacted a couch surfer to stay with in Duisburg. I didn’t know exactly how long I’d be staying, so I asked for three nights – plenty of time to photograph the closed factories along the Ruhr– and a guy responded to my request, “No worries.”
I arrived at his small one-bedroom flat where we had some dinner, some beer… and then he said, “It’s a holiday this weekend, so I’m going to Holland tomorrow with friends.”
So… I guess I won’t stay three nights. But before I could respond, he stopped my train of thought, “but you can stay here- it’s no problem- I’ll give you the keys.”
Wow. I’d known this guy for about an hour. And now, I’ve got the place to myself. Of course, I need to do his dishes and take out the trash, but… wow.
He's even got a crap load of movies and a projector screen...
Antonello and Debra are a couch surfing couple who put me up for two nights. Along with showing me where I can take the best photos, they also introduced me to the best places for gelato, beer, and real Italian pizza. The sky was cloudier than I would’ve liked for pictures, but at least the next wave of thunderstorms held off until my departure.
Another long journey…
The train up the Ruhr River to Duisburg, Germany was going to take about twelve hours. But as the tracks wound through the lakeside villages and foggy mountains of Switzerland, I stared out the window and watched the lightning kinda not wanting it to be over.
Like any other city where I don’t know anyone, I had contacted a couch surfer to stay with in Duisburg. I didn’t know exactly how long I’d be staying, so I asked for three nights – plenty of time to photograph the closed factories along the Ruhr– and a guy responded to my request, “No worries.”
I arrived at his small one-bedroom flat where we had some dinner, some beer… and then he said, “It’s a holiday this weekend, so I’m going to Holland tomorrow with friends.”
So… I guess I won’t stay three nights. But before I could respond, he stopped my train of thought, “but you can stay here- it’s no problem- I’ll give you the keys.”
Wow. I’d known this guy for about an hour. And now, I’ve got the place to myself. Of course, I need to do his dishes and take out the trash, but… wow.
He's even got a crap load of movies and a projector screen...
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Destination: Zzzzzzzzlin
Fucking trains.
Nothing has been more stressful than leaving Łódź . Not just buying a ticket- I had to figure out where to go. I needed footage of more post-industrial cities, but which ones? …How will I get there? …How long should I spend there? …Should I be worried about all these thunderstorms moving through Europe? And on top of all this planning, I still had a ton to shoot in Łódź.
Finally, on my second to last night in town, I (with some remote assistance from Philip) came up with a plan.
From Łódź … I'd train north to Warsaw to catch the connection south to Zlin, Czech Republic. I’ll have about a day and a half to get the best pictures of Zlin. Then I’ll train to Brno, Czech to catch a flight to Milano, Italy where I can train to Torino and shoot there for a day or so. From Torino, I’ll fly to Brussels, Belguim where I’ll take a train east to Duisburg, Germany where I can see the cites of the Ruhr area.
And this is all gonna happen in one week.
I’ll admit, it’s a little overwhelming just writing it down. But all I had to do was stick to the plan. No room for error; no time for the ever-late “Oliver-time.” Michal had spent over an hour planning the first leg: Wake up at 7, walk to the train station near Łukasz's flat, buy a ticket to Otrokovice, Czech; I’d stop in Warsaw where I’d have fifteen minutes to change trains; and when I got to Otrokovice, I’d take the bus to Zlin. ETA: 8pm.
I woke up, packed, grabbed a coffee and made it to the train station early. Good start considering I only got four hours of sleep. I approached the counter and said,
“Bilet to Otrokovice.”
“Czech?”
“Tak (yes).”
“(polish, polish, polish, polish…)” She went on and on, and I had a feeling none of it was “coming right up” so I turned to the girl behind me in line for help. She translated. “You can’t buy international tickets from this station. You have to go to the other station in Łódź .”
…there’s another station? …I was told to come here. Fuck.
Okay. New plan: buy a ticket to Warsaw, I’ll have fifteen minutes to RUN to the ticket counter, buy my ticket for Otrokovice, and bolt for the train. I ran track in high school; I could make it, right?
Not a chance in hell.
I was stuck in Warsaw waiting for the next train… at 8pm…which put my ETA in Zlin somewhere around 4am.
With eight hours to kill, I stuffed my luggage in a train locker and found a nice patch of grass next to the hippies in the park. Listening to some Chad Valley tunes, staring up at the towering Palace of Culture and Science, I fell asleep. I needed this nap more than anything; maybe getting stranded wasn’t so bad. …until those thunderstorms rolled in.
A drop of water hit my nose… drops turned to rain; people ran for cover… I, on the other hand, couldn’t.
I have a system when sleeping in public with my valuables. Even though I had locked two of my three bags in the train locker, I don’t trust this camera anywhere but with me; it’s either around my neck or in my backpack at all times. So in case I fell asleep, I had looped my cable lock around my backpack and through my belt. It’s not as uncomfortable as it might sound, as long as I don’t change positions. When I was stranded in the Nairobi airport, I was able to get a full six hours this way. This time, the rain let me get about 40 minutes.
I scrambled awkwardly with the combination lock, stuffed my iPod in my bag, and scuffed on my shoes as I took off running. I found shelter in a coffee shop the rest of the afternoon where I caught up on e-mails and wished my mother a happy birthday 3 weeks late. (Yeah, like I said- Oliver-time).
I know- there’s nothing cute about forgetting my mother’s birthday. I’m a jerk and I deserve everything that’s coming to me. …like, all this stuff…
By the time I boarded the evening train I was completely exhausted. I just had to make sure I was awake at 3am so I could change trains and get to Zlin. ‘Stay awake Steve, stay awake Steve…’
I fell asleep.
I opened my eyes to find the train stopped. I jerked up and looked out the window. It was the dead of night… just after 3am… and this was my stop. Eureka! The first good luck all day. …and then the train started moving.
Fuck.
I rode for another hour and got off at the next stop in some unknown village. Everything was closed; nowhere to eat, nowhere to get Czech currency, and the only toilet was a porta-potty that smelled like a rotting body. It was two hours until the next train back, so I curled up on the floor, locked all three bags to my belt Nairobi-style, and passed out.
I got into Zlin around 9am. I was beat, I was thirsty, I had to pee, and I was STARVING. I stopped at the first hotel I saw. …and it had a breakfast buffet!!!
“So… is the buffet free for guests?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Complimentary?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t have to pay?”
“No.”
Suckers.
I wolfed down three bowls of cereal, two eggs, two sausages, a yogurt, two baguettes, two glasses of OJ, and an apple before heading up to my room.
“Can I take the coffee up to my room?”
“No.”
I don’t think she realized that I already had two eggs, two pastries, an apple and an orange stuffed into my cargo pants, but whatever. They can keep their coffee. I needed sleep anyway.
I squeezed in an hour nap, before meeting up with Kate- a couch surfer studying at Zlin’s Tomáš Baťa University. (Goddamn this site is useful). I told her the types of pictures I was looking for and she knocked it out of the park. First, she took me to a lookout point where I could get a view of the entire city, then we walked through the old factories, the new university developments, and she even wove in some historical city sites.
The entire city of Zlin was built around Baťa shoes. The founder Tomáš Baťa is sometimes called the Henry Ford of Europe. After much of the operations have been outsourced, the city is hoping to re-brand itself as a University town. The institution is only ten years old, so only time will tell if it’ll work.
It was a full day, and my legs were about to fall off. Kate took me to a restaurant where I filled up on typical heart-attack-on-a-plate Czech cuisine (meat and bread dumplings served with cranberries and whipped cream), then I passed out.
I had to wake up early the next day and head to Torino. And with three busses, a plane and a train to catch, I had a feeling I wasn’t gonna get much sleep on that journey either.
Nothing has been more stressful than leaving Łódź . Not just buying a ticket- I had to figure out where to go. I needed footage of more post-industrial cities, but which ones? …How will I get there? …How long should I spend there? …Should I be worried about all these thunderstorms moving through Europe? And on top of all this planning, I still had a ton to shoot in Łódź.
Finally, on my second to last night in town, I (with some remote assistance from Philip) came up with a plan.
From Łódź … I'd train north to Warsaw to catch the connection south to Zlin, Czech Republic. I’ll have about a day and a half to get the best pictures of Zlin. Then I’ll train to Brno, Czech to catch a flight to Milano, Italy where I can train to Torino and shoot there for a day or so. From Torino, I’ll fly to Brussels, Belguim where I’ll take a train east to Duisburg, Germany where I can see the cites of the Ruhr area.
And this is all gonna happen in one week.
I’ll admit, it’s a little overwhelming just writing it down. But all I had to do was stick to the plan. No room for error; no time for the ever-late “Oliver-time.” Michal had spent over an hour planning the first leg: Wake up at 7, walk to the train station near Łukasz's flat, buy a ticket to Otrokovice, Czech; I’d stop in Warsaw where I’d have fifteen minutes to change trains; and when I got to Otrokovice, I’d take the bus to Zlin. ETA: 8pm.
I woke up, packed, grabbed a coffee and made it to the train station early. Good start considering I only got four hours of sleep. I approached the counter and said,
“Bilet to Otrokovice.”
“Czech?”
“Tak (yes).”
“(polish, polish, polish, polish…)” She went on and on, and I had a feeling none of it was “coming right up” so I turned to the girl behind me in line for help. She translated. “You can’t buy international tickets from this station. You have to go to the other station in Łódź .”
…there’s another station? …I was told to come here. Fuck.
Okay. New plan: buy a ticket to Warsaw, I’ll have fifteen minutes to RUN to the ticket counter, buy my ticket for Otrokovice, and bolt for the train. I ran track in high school; I could make it, right?
Not a chance in hell.
I was stuck in Warsaw waiting for the next train… at 8pm…which put my ETA in Zlin somewhere around 4am.
With eight hours to kill, I stuffed my luggage in a train locker and found a nice patch of grass next to the hippies in the park. Listening to some Chad Valley tunes, staring up at the towering Palace of Culture and Science, I fell asleep. I needed this nap more than anything; maybe getting stranded wasn’t so bad. …until those thunderstorms rolled in.
A drop of water hit my nose… drops turned to rain; people ran for cover… I, on the other hand, couldn’t.
I have a system when sleeping in public with my valuables. Even though I had locked two of my three bags in the train locker, I don’t trust this camera anywhere but with me; it’s either around my neck or in my backpack at all times. So in case I fell asleep, I had looped my cable lock around my backpack and through my belt. It’s not as uncomfortable as it might sound, as long as I don’t change positions. When I was stranded in the Nairobi airport, I was able to get a full six hours this way. This time, the rain let me get about 40 minutes.
I scrambled awkwardly with the combination lock, stuffed my iPod in my bag, and scuffed on my shoes as I took off running. I found shelter in a coffee shop the rest of the afternoon where I caught up on e-mails and wished my mother a happy birthday 3 weeks late. (Yeah, like I said- Oliver-time).
I know- there’s nothing cute about forgetting my mother’s birthday. I’m a jerk and I deserve everything that’s coming to me. …like, all this stuff…
By the time I boarded the evening train I was completely exhausted. I just had to make sure I was awake at 3am so I could change trains and get to Zlin. ‘Stay awake Steve, stay awake Steve…’
I fell asleep.
I opened my eyes to find the train stopped. I jerked up and looked out the window. It was the dead of night… just after 3am… and this was my stop. Eureka! The first good luck all day. …and then the train started moving.
Fuck.
I rode for another hour and got off at the next stop in some unknown village. Everything was closed; nowhere to eat, nowhere to get Czech currency, and the only toilet was a porta-potty that smelled like a rotting body. It was two hours until the next train back, so I curled up on the floor, locked all three bags to my belt Nairobi-style, and passed out.
I got into Zlin around 9am. I was beat, I was thirsty, I had to pee, and I was STARVING. I stopped at the first hotel I saw. …and it had a breakfast buffet!!!
“So… is the buffet free for guests?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Complimentary?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t have to pay?”
“No.”
Suckers.
I wolfed down three bowls of cereal, two eggs, two sausages, a yogurt, two baguettes, two glasses of OJ, and an apple before heading up to my room.
“Can I take the coffee up to my room?”
“No.”
I don’t think she realized that I already had two eggs, two pastries, an apple and an orange stuffed into my cargo pants, but whatever. They can keep their coffee. I needed sleep anyway.
I squeezed in an hour nap, before meeting up with Kate- a couch surfer studying at Zlin’s Tomáš Baťa University. (Goddamn this site is useful). I told her the types of pictures I was looking for and she knocked it out of the park. First, she took me to a lookout point where I could get a view of the entire city, then we walked through the old factories, the new university developments, and she even wove in some historical city sites.
The entire city of Zlin was built around Baťa shoes. The founder Tomáš Baťa is sometimes called the Henry Ford of Europe. After much of the operations have been outsourced, the city is hoping to re-brand itself as a University town. The institution is only ten years old, so only time will tell if it’ll work.
It was a full day, and my legs were about to fall off. Kate took me to a restaurant where I filled up on typical heart-attack-on-a-plate Czech cuisine (meat and bread dumplings served with cranberries and whipped cream), then I passed out.
I had to wake up early the next day and head to Torino. And with three busses, a plane and a train to catch, I had a feeling I wasn’t gonna get much sleep on that journey either.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Confessions and Corrections
Last Friday, I danced. Without a drink in my hand.
It was Agnes’s birthday party, and we got back from Warsaw just in time. The driver she had hooked me up with was a guy she knew through couch surfer, and he was on his way to the party too. Of course, braving that drive just for a party doesn’t make this guy any ordinary couch surfer. He’s a couch surfing addict. …At least that’s what his business card says. No joke. It reads: “Couch Surfing Addict” with a picture of his smiling face. I guess there are worse things to be addicted to. Very interesting dude. And another prime example of the good-natured people in this hospitality network. I’m not looking forward to the day when a knife-wielding maniac logs on and ruins it the way he did American hitchhiking.
Agnes’s party was at her friend’s coffee shop. …a coffee shop that serves vodka. Cool little café decorated with artifacts from the days of communism. And like any cool coffee shop, it’s versatile- quaint café, rowdy bar, art gallery, and they even let a group of Ukrainian folk singers practice on Monday nights. (yeah, I got footage).
Vodka… dancing… high-fives (piątka!)… then Agnes pulls me in…
“Can I tell you something?”
“Uh… yes.”
“I’ve never randomly e-mailed a couch surfer like the way I did you.”
“…Really? Cuz I just assumed you did this all the time…”
“No…”
“Well, can I tell you something?”
“Okay…”
“You weren’t my only random e-mail. I got, like, four.”
“Oh…”
“But for some reason, yours was the only one I responded to.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Destiny.”
“Probably.”
“Say ‘piątka.’”
“Piątka!”
Then we high-five’d. (My king-of-high-fives brother Brian would’ve been proud).
So Agnes and I are like ‘this’ now (*holding up crossed fingers).
For our next lunch together, she said, “okay, I’m finally gonna take you to a milk bar.”
…Apparently the place I earlier thought was a milk bar was not a milk bar. Milk bars are similar with their handwritten menus and old ladies who look like they’ve worked there for fifty years. …but just about everything in these dirt-cheap and dirt-y cafeterias look like it’s been there for fifty years. It’s like walking into 1961. And with 1961-like prices, it’s no surprise they’re still open.
Later in the week, Agnes introduced me to Sexmission (proper polish title: Seksmisja)- Poland’s favorite movie. Communism could never unite a country like this 80’s comedy. Everyone loves it. Everyone. But, confession: I didn’t. The fantastic plot is bogged down with poor comedic timing and slow development, not to mention any humorous nuances in the dialogue are unfortunately lost in translation. Sorry, Poland. Really glad I got to see it though. If you’re ever traveling in Poland, this film is an instant conversation starter.
The week wasn’t all lunches and sexmissions…
Agnes got me an interview with the author of “Były dancingi i grały orkiestry w mieście Łodzi” – a book reflecting on entertainment during communist times. (The girl’s got connections).
Luckily, I got to do more than just listen to some old man talk about history. Anna (an architectural student and friend of the Topografia peeps) showed me the closed factories. Not the ones used for art spaces and museums… the boarded up ones that say: “keep out” or “danger: unstable structure.” We’d climb in mission-impossible-style and make our way over the broken floorboards and through the heaps of dust. The only factory she wouldn’t go near is the one with “the dogs.” Good idea.
Then Anna (btw- it’s actually pronounced An-ya; very popular name here) hooked me up with one of her architectural professors to interview. I know the opinion of an architect seems a little excessive given the subject of the movie, but get this: one of his focuses is transportation infrastructure, and while he was talking about Lodz public funding for “road widening,” all I could think about was a proposed plan in Detroit for road downsizing.
One last confession: as my stay in Lodz winds down, I don’t feel so sad to say goodbye to everyone. I have this weird feeling it’s only temporary.
It was Agnes’s birthday party, and we got back from Warsaw just in time. The driver she had hooked me up with was a guy she knew through couch surfer, and he was on his way to the party too. Of course, braving that drive just for a party doesn’t make this guy any ordinary couch surfer. He’s a couch surfing addict. …At least that’s what his business card says. No joke. It reads: “Couch Surfing Addict” with a picture of his smiling face. I guess there are worse things to be addicted to. Very interesting dude. And another prime example of the good-natured people in this hospitality network. I’m not looking forward to the day when a knife-wielding maniac logs on and ruins it the way he did American hitchhiking.
Agnes’s party was at her friend’s coffee shop. …a coffee shop that serves vodka. Cool little café decorated with artifacts from the days of communism. And like any cool coffee shop, it’s versatile- quaint café, rowdy bar, art gallery, and they even let a group of Ukrainian folk singers practice on Monday nights. (yeah, I got footage).
Vodka… dancing… high-fives (piątka!)… then Agnes pulls me in…
“Can I tell you something?”
“Uh… yes.”
“I’ve never randomly e-mailed a couch surfer like the way I did you.”
“…Really? Cuz I just assumed you did this all the time…”
“No…”
“Well, can I tell you something?”
“Okay…”
“You weren’t my only random e-mail. I got, like, four.”
“Oh…”
“But for some reason, yours was the only one I responded to.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Destiny.”
“Probably.”
“Say ‘piątka.’”
“Piątka!”
Then we high-five’d. (My king-of-high-fives brother Brian would’ve been proud).
So Agnes and I are like ‘this’ now (*holding up crossed fingers).
For our next lunch together, she said, “okay, I’m finally gonna take you to a milk bar.”
…Apparently the place I earlier thought was a milk bar was not a milk bar. Milk bars are similar with their handwritten menus and old ladies who look like they’ve worked there for fifty years. …but just about everything in these dirt-cheap and dirt-y cafeterias look like it’s been there for fifty years. It’s like walking into 1961. And with 1961-like prices, it’s no surprise they’re still open.
Later in the week, Agnes introduced me to Sexmission (proper polish title: Seksmisja)- Poland’s favorite movie. Communism could never unite a country like this 80’s comedy. Everyone loves it. Everyone. But, confession: I didn’t. The fantastic plot is bogged down with poor comedic timing and slow development, not to mention any humorous nuances in the dialogue are unfortunately lost in translation. Sorry, Poland. Really glad I got to see it though. If you’re ever traveling in Poland, this film is an instant conversation starter.
The week wasn’t all lunches and sexmissions…
Agnes got me an interview with the author of “Były dancingi i grały orkiestry w mieście Łodzi” – a book reflecting on entertainment during communist times. (The girl’s got connections).
Luckily, I got to do more than just listen to some old man talk about history. Anna (an architectural student and friend of the Topografia peeps) showed me the closed factories. Not the ones used for art spaces and museums… the boarded up ones that say: “keep out” or “danger: unstable structure.” We’d climb in mission-impossible-style and make our way over the broken floorboards and through the heaps of dust. The only factory she wouldn’t go near is the one with “the dogs.” Good idea.
Then Anna (btw- it’s actually pronounced An-ya; very popular name here) hooked me up with one of her architectural professors to interview. I know the opinion of an architect seems a little excessive given the subject of the movie, but get this: one of his focuses is transportation infrastructure, and while he was talking about Lodz public funding for “road widening,” all I could think about was a proposed plan in Detroit for road downsizing.
One last confession: as my stay in Lodz winds down, I don’t feel so sad to say goodbye to everyone. I have this weird feeling it’s only temporary.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Homemade Ketchup
It’s been surprisingly hectic since Philip left. For one, I don’t have the luxuries we had when we were in full production mode- like, Michal (or Marta) at my side to translate, manage the schedule, help carry equipment, or especially, drive. These days, it’s just me. In the morning, I pack everything for the day on my back, and then, I start walking. We’ve got a long list of B-Roll* and there’s a hell of a lot of area to cover in this city… Which makes the sweltering heat that much worse; I’m literally dripping by the time lunch rolls around. So, needless to say, I don’t cart around the laptop when I don’t have to. And when I don’t have the laptop, I can’t get on the internet during lunch… and when I can’t get internet during lunch, I kinda miss my chance for the day. So here’s the update…
Score one more for Couch Surfer. When I logged-in to leave a reference for my London hosts, my facebook-like profile page updated to indicate my current location… and all of a sudden, I got a message from a girl named Agnes. I wasn’t scheduled to surf her couch or anything, she just wanted to say hi and welcome me to her fair city of Łódź … maybe grab a drink or something.
I know what you’re thinking- is she a stalker-creep? …or is she actually the friendliest person of all time? Well, as a creep myself, I had nothing to lose.
And boy did it pay off. She’s awesome. Like, super awesome. Another fun person to hang out with in Łódź . And she’s got the hookup like you wouldn’t believe…
“…You don’t have a cell phone…? I have an extra one you can use.”
“…Oh, you need a bike…? You should borrow mine.”
“…Wait, you’re going to (insert European city)? I’ll call my friend and see if you can stay at their flat.”
I know, too good to be true, right?
Aside from lending out her bike and cell phone, Agnes introduced me to the world of Polish milk bars. These tiny restaurants were popular during the communism days serving up authentic home cooked Polish food dirt-cheap. Delicious. So delicious, we went two days in a row. I left it up to Agnes to order me something from the handwritten menu that changes almost daily based on what ingredients the old ladies have in the kitchen. And so far, she’s two for two.
Just as I reached an all-time high in my Łódź friend-count, I had to leave them all to go to Warsaw. Since many of our interviews reference the capital city, I needed to grab a few shots. So I packed a small backpack and hopped the train for a 36-hour romp through the largest city Poland.
Traveling alone… Probably end up sleeping on a couch belonging to one of Agnes’s acquaintances… But come to find out, Łukasz’s roommate Bogumila (and technically my roommate during my stay in Łódź ) was on her way to Warsaw as well. Her family lives in a little neighborhood on the outskirts of town… and they have a spare bedroom. Score! Bogumila (AKA “Boogie”) took me all over town, had her mom whip up some extra home cookin’, and even gave me a great sax lesson. s-A-x. pervert.
Remember how I said Łukasz lives across from the prestigious Łódź Music Academy? Well, that’s where Boogie studies.
Anyway, my stay in Warsaw has been simply incredible. The city is amazing. If Łódź is Detroit, Warsaw is Chicago. And relaxing in someone’s home- you just can’t beat that. Boogie’s step-dad, aside from being an official judge in French wine competitions, is quite the musician himself, so we spent the evening drinking wine, listening to his recordings, and playing the piano. Seriously, I rarely get to touch a piano with such a warm sound. I don’t think I need to mention the food- Milk Bars are great, but to have real homecooking, you’ve gotta be in a home.
On my way back to Łódź now. I’d say I have to catch the train, but Agnes has hooked me up once again. She called a few hours ago, saying she’s got a friend driving to Łódź from Warsaw and he can give me a ride. Damn. There’s gotta be a catch, right? Polish people can’t possibly be this nice.
*B-roll: the footage used to support the interview statements- like, when someone references the need for more public transportation, I’ll need footage of a crowded bus stop or a traffic jam.
Score one more for Couch Surfer. When I logged-in to leave a reference for my London hosts, my facebook-like profile page updated to indicate my current location… and all of a sudden, I got a message from a girl named Agnes. I wasn’t scheduled to surf her couch or anything, she just wanted to say hi and welcome me to her fair city of Łódź … maybe grab a drink or something.
I know what you’re thinking- is she a stalker-creep? …or is she actually the friendliest person of all time? Well, as a creep myself, I had nothing to lose.
And boy did it pay off. She’s awesome. Like, super awesome. Another fun person to hang out with in Łódź . And she’s got the hookup like you wouldn’t believe…
“…You don’t have a cell phone…? I have an extra one you can use.”
“…Oh, you need a bike…? You should borrow mine.”
“…Wait, you’re going to (insert European city)? I’ll call my friend and see if you can stay at their flat.”
I know, too good to be true, right?
Aside from lending out her bike and cell phone, Agnes introduced me to the world of Polish milk bars. These tiny restaurants were popular during the communism days serving up authentic home cooked Polish food dirt-cheap. Delicious. So delicious, we went two days in a row. I left it up to Agnes to order me something from the handwritten menu that changes almost daily based on what ingredients the old ladies have in the kitchen. And so far, she’s two for two.
Just as I reached an all-time high in my Łódź friend-count, I had to leave them all to go to Warsaw. Since many of our interviews reference the capital city, I needed to grab a few shots. So I packed a small backpack and hopped the train for a 36-hour romp through the largest city Poland.
Traveling alone… Probably end up sleeping on a couch belonging to one of Agnes’s acquaintances… But come to find out, Łukasz’s roommate Bogumila (and technically my roommate during my stay in Łódź ) was on her way to Warsaw as well. Her family lives in a little neighborhood on the outskirts of town… and they have a spare bedroom. Score! Bogumila (AKA “Boogie”) took me all over town, had her mom whip up some extra home cookin’, and even gave me a great sax lesson. s-A-x. pervert.
Remember how I said Łukasz lives across from the prestigious Łódź Music Academy? Well, that’s where Boogie studies.
Anyway, my stay in Warsaw has been simply incredible. The city is amazing. If Łódź is Detroit, Warsaw is Chicago. And relaxing in someone’s home- you just can’t beat that. Boogie’s step-dad, aside from being an official judge in French wine competitions, is quite the musician himself, so we spent the evening drinking wine, listening to his recordings, and playing the piano. Seriously, I rarely get to touch a piano with such a warm sound. I don’t think I need to mention the food- Milk Bars are great, but to have real homecooking, you’ve gotta be in a home.
On my way back to Łódź now. I’d say I have to catch the train, but Agnes has hooked me up once again. She called a few hours ago, saying she’s got a friend driving to Łódź from Warsaw and he can give me a ride. Damn. There’s gotta be a catch, right? Polish people can’t possibly be this nice.
*B-roll: the footage used to support the interview statements- like, when someone references the need for more public transportation, I’ll need footage of a crowded bus stop or a traffic jam.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
The Wall
I remember every tasty shot of Polish potato vodka: gathered around Liliana’s kitchen table our first night in town, hanging out on the porch after Luca’s band’s show, at the club as Wiktor mixed some serious industrial beats… whenever it was poured, it seemed like there was no limit to how awesome the night could get. But around 4:30 this morning… I found the limit.
It was Philip’s last night; we had to.
…Let me back up.
Friday began with a tour of the Łódź Film Center where they house one of the largest blue screens in Europe as well as one of the largest prop and costume collections (medieval armor, Nazi uniforms, an entire arsenal of guns...).
Then we put a couple of our hosts in the hot seat. Topografie is a social mission much like Detroit Lives. The collective sponsors City Games, an interactive map of Łódź featuring notes from locals as well as historical photos, and they even do community art installations- my favorite was when a bunch of people took household lamps to a dark park one evening and lit it up, so when residents went for their nightly stroll, it made their evening a little brighter. (pun intended, sorry).
Friday night, the reality of Philip’s Sunday morning departure was sinking in, but we couldn’t quit yet. We needed B-roll. Crazy, underground DJ B-roll. Hell yeah. This is something we couldn’t approach from a “professional” standpoint even if we wanted to- after all, the real parties don’t start until after midnight. Good thing Luka (our original sound guy) was back, and as you may remember from a previous post, he knows how to have a hell of a night.
For the pre-party entertainment, he introduced us to “the wall”… which is exactly what the name suggests: a wall. …a low stone divider in a petrol station parking lot. This is where everybody goes to drink. Everybody. The parking lot is packed with Polish hipsters. It’s not legal, and police show up every hour or so. But it’s just a procedural stop for them. They’ll drive though and disperse the crowd, and within 30-minutes, the wall is back in full effect. Even if police cracked down, (which I’m sure would send the petrol station food mart out of business), the wall would live on; the common belief is that “it isn’t a place, it’s a state of mind.”
As midnight rolled around, Wiktor’s party was raging… we just had to get to the opposite end of Piotrkowska Street. …and if you recall, that’s a helluva long street. There was only one solution… BIKE RICKSHAW RACE! We partnered up and flagged down our rides. This was gonna be some badass Ben-Hur shit. …until Philip and I got stuck with a wheezy old man. At least we made it there.
Like the wall, everyone knew about this party. And like the wall, the cops broke it up. Damn. At least they didn’t completely shut it down. Wiktor transferred his energy from savage industrial techno to dreamy trance. Made for some cool visuals.
By the time we stumbled out, the night sky made for some cool visuals too as it was slowly infused with morning light. Don’t ask me how, but we still had the energy to set the camera in the middle of the street and shoot some time lapsed traffic. Vodka hard at work.
Saturday morning was a rough one, but not as bad as one might imagine. We knew we had to power through Philip’s last day. Our last interviews.
We spoke with a documentary filmmaker who had one of the bitterest outlooks of any of our subjects. Then we got hopeful insight from our host Łukasz. Like many in Łódź, he frequently travels 90 minutes to Warsaw for work and sees the future of Łódź as becoming the creative counterpart to the nation’s capital. Finally, we interviewed local artist/ fashion designer Gregor Gonsior. He’s one of those guys that oozes with understated intrigue… and I didn’t even know what the heck he was saying.
It had been a long two weeks. It was time to celebrate.
Across the street from Łukasz’s flat, we sat around the ornate columns of the Łódź Academy of Music and drank. The summer air was perfect. The vodka was delicious.
After a few bottles, it was back to the wall. Damn good times. I remember learning Polish tongue twisters… I remember Agnieszka’s dream about penguins… I remember going to the bar… it was very red… then we started walking… then the sun started rising… Agata got orange juice… Philip got ice cream… and when we finally got home I remember standing in the bathroom thinking to myself, “I’ve been peeing for a really long time…”
100% awesome …until I closed my eyes and the room started spinning.
It’s a miracle I was able to function this morning. I’m pretty sure I was still sleeping when I somehow backed up all the footage on our second drive and packed it into Philip’s suitcase. He hopped on the train, and I hopped back into bed.
The wall… damn. With this headache I'm gonna be in that state of mind for the rest of the day whether I like it or not.
Worth it.
It was Philip’s last night; we had to.
…Let me back up.
Friday began with a tour of the Łódź Film Center where they house one of the largest blue screens in Europe as well as one of the largest prop and costume collections (medieval armor, Nazi uniforms, an entire arsenal of guns...).
Then we put a couple of our hosts in the hot seat. Topografie is a social mission much like Detroit Lives. The collective sponsors City Games, an interactive map of Łódź featuring notes from locals as well as historical photos, and they even do community art installations- my favorite was when a bunch of people took household lamps to a dark park one evening and lit it up, so when residents went for their nightly stroll, it made their evening a little brighter. (pun intended, sorry).
Friday night, the reality of Philip’s Sunday morning departure was sinking in, but we couldn’t quit yet. We needed B-roll. Crazy, underground DJ B-roll. Hell yeah. This is something we couldn’t approach from a “professional” standpoint even if we wanted to- after all, the real parties don’t start until after midnight. Good thing Luka (our original sound guy) was back, and as you may remember from a previous post, he knows how to have a hell of a night.
For the pre-party entertainment, he introduced us to “the wall”… which is exactly what the name suggests: a wall. …a low stone divider in a petrol station parking lot. This is where everybody goes to drink. Everybody. The parking lot is packed with Polish hipsters. It’s not legal, and police show up every hour or so. But it’s just a procedural stop for them. They’ll drive though and disperse the crowd, and within 30-minutes, the wall is back in full effect. Even if police cracked down, (which I’m sure would send the petrol station food mart out of business), the wall would live on; the common belief is that “it isn’t a place, it’s a state of mind.”
As midnight rolled around, Wiktor’s party was raging… we just had to get to the opposite end of Piotrkowska Street. …and if you recall, that’s a helluva long street. There was only one solution… BIKE RICKSHAW RACE! We partnered up and flagged down our rides. This was gonna be some badass Ben-Hur shit. …until Philip and I got stuck with a wheezy old man. At least we made it there.
Like the wall, everyone knew about this party. And like the wall, the cops broke it up. Damn. At least they didn’t completely shut it down. Wiktor transferred his energy from savage industrial techno to dreamy trance. Made for some cool visuals.
By the time we stumbled out, the night sky made for some cool visuals too as it was slowly infused with morning light. Don’t ask me how, but we still had the energy to set the camera in the middle of the street and shoot some time lapsed traffic. Vodka hard at work.
Saturday morning was a rough one, but not as bad as one might imagine. We knew we had to power through Philip’s last day. Our last interviews.
We spoke with a documentary filmmaker who had one of the bitterest outlooks of any of our subjects. Then we got hopeful insight from our host Łukasz. Like many in Łódź, he frequently travels 90 minutes to Warsaw for work and sees the future of Łódź as becoming the creative counterpart to the nation’s capital. Finally, we interviewed local artist/ fashion designer Gregor Gonsior. He’s one of those guys that oozes with understated intrigue… and I didn’t even know what the heck he was saying.
It had been a long two weeks. It was time to celebrate.
Across the street from Łukasz’s flat, we sat around the ornate columns of the Łódź Academy of Music and drank. The summer air was perfect. The vodka was delicious.
After a few bottles, it was back to the wall. Damn good times. I remember learning Polish tongue twisters… I remember Agnieszka’s dream about penguins… I remember going to the bar… it was very red… then we started walking… then the sun started rising… Agata got orange juice… Philip got ice cream… and when we finally got home I remember standing in the bathroom thinking to myself, “I’ve been peeing for a really long time…”
100% awesome …until I closed my eyes and the room started spinning.
It’s a miracle I was able to function this morning. I’m pretty sure I was still sleeping when I somehow backed up all the footage on our second drive and packed it into Philip’s suitcase. He hopped on the train, and I hopped back into bed.
The wall… damn. With this headache I'm gonna be in that state of mind for the rest of the day whether I like it or not.
Worth it.
Friday, June 3, 2011
HollyŁódź
Se-Ma-Fore: they’re the Pixar of Poland- a two-time Academy Award winning animation production company that’s been operating out of Łódź for the past forty years. And when we showed up yesterday, we got the VIP treatment: a studio tour (including the workshop where they’re in production of a new Polish TV series), an interview with the Oscar winner himself, and we even got the go-ahead to use clips of their movies in our movie. Like… whoa!
Earlier that morning, we got a taste of the live action scene when we toured the Łódź Art Center and saw a small film crew hard at work. The warehouses have been converted into sets, gallery space, and offices for creative development. I’m beginning to see why David Lynch loves this city so much. He shot most of Inland Empire here, and recently he met with the President to discuss building his own Łódź studio.
Thursday afternoon was a relaxing one. For those of you keeping track, I did laundry. Woo! Then, I took a nap that lasted longer than 120 seconds, and I wasn’t in a car. Double Woo!
It’s getting down to the wire. Philip leaves on Sunday, so we’re gonna have a couple of crammed days coming up. Then again, we’re making a movie; there’s not really much to complain about.
Earlier that morning, we got a taste of the live action scene when we toured the Łódź Art Center and saw a small film crew hard at work. The warehouses have been converted into sets, gallery space, and offices for creative development. I’m beginning to see why David Lynch loves this city so much. He shot most of Inland Empire here, and recently he met with the President to discuss building his own Łódź studio.
Thursday afternoon was a relaxing one. For those of you keeping track, I did laundry. Woo! Then, I took a nap that lasted longer than 120 seconds, and I wasn’t in a car. Double Woo!
It’s getting down to the wire. Philip leaves on Sunday, so we’re gonna have a couple of crammed days coming up. Then again, we’re making a movie; there’s not really much to complain about.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
lookin' good, skinny
Everything you’ve heard about Polish women is true; they’re beautiful. It’s like walking around a college campus in the spring. But college girls are supposed to be skinny; they’re plagued with anxiety, eating disorders, and vodka sodas. The girls here eat pączkis, they have that relaxed European mentality, and I won’t even get into the amount of mayonnaise they slop on food.
Anna our sound new sound girl (Luka had to leave for another job) eats a pączki every morning. Okay- not every morning. Sometimes, she has a cheese Danish. Yet, she’s still skinnier than 99% of the American population. …How?! At least her diet’s safe with us; we probably burned off ten cheese Danishes yesterday.
We started at City Hall where we got footage of a city counsel meeting. Then we caught a cab to the Cinematography Museum where the President was unveiling a new statue of Polish TV’s most beloved cartoon cat. (Hey- if we can bronze Magic Johnson, they can certainly hold a photo op in front of a cartoon cat). At the museum, we interviewed the man in charge of PR for the city.
Then we spoke to one person who perfectly bridges the gap between Łódź and Detroit… Liliana. A couple months ago, she found our project online and nearly flipped. Born in Łódź, moved to Detroit during high school, and now back in Łódź finishing her masters- she knows both cities inside and out, and she’s even contemplated her own dual-city project for quite some time.
That evening a storm moved in. And as the weather changed, so did the tune of our subjects. One aging artist was almost ready to give up his fight with local government, but an up-starter from the NGO sector couldn’t have been more fired up; she brought a policy smackdown like no other, knocking the President, city hall, and anyone else with voting power. It was raw, it was passionate, and the more she challenged the political gods, the more thunder tried to silence her voice.
…Gods can be so touchy. It rained the rest of the night. …And thank gods it did. We needed to cool off. It had been hotter than hell the past two days, and in a lame attempt to appear professional, Philip and I wore our trendiest skinny jeans- Philip even wore a blazer. Damn those skinny jeans.
Stripped down to shorts and t-shirts, we propped open the balcony door in our fourth floor walk-up and logged the day’s footage as we listened to the rain. It’s times like these I’m glad we don’t have internet.
Anna our sound new sound girl (Luka had to leave for another job) eats a pączki every morning. Okay- not every morning. Sometimes, she has a cheese Danish. Yet, she’s still skinnier than 99% of the American population. …How?! At least her diet’s safe with us; we probably burned off ten cheese Danishes yesterday.
We started at City Hall where we got footage of a city counsel meeting. Then we caught a cab to the Cinematography Museum where the President was unveiling a new statue of Polish TV’s most beloved cartoon cat. (Hey- if we can bronze Magic Johnson, they can certainly hold a photo op in front of a cartoon cat). At the museum, we interviewed the man in charge of PR for the city.
Then we spoke to one person who perfectly bridges the gap between Łódź and Detroit… Liliana. A couple months ago, she found our project online and nearly flipped. Born in Łódź, moved to Detroit during high school, and now back in Łódź finishing her masters- she knows both cities inside and out, and she’s even contemplated her own dual-city project for quite some time.
That evening a storm moved in. And as the weather changed, so did the tune of our subjects. One aging artist was almost ready to give up his fight with local government, but an up-starter from the NGO sector couldn’t have been more fired up; she brought a policy smackdown like no other, knocking the President, city hall, and anyone else with voting power. It was raw, it was passionate, and the more she challenged the political gods, the more thunder tried to silence her voice.
…Gods can be so touchy. It rained the rest of the night. …And thank gods it did. We needed to cool off. It had been hotter than hell the past two days, and in a lame attempt to appear professional, Philip and I wore our trendiest skinny jeans- Philip even wore a blazer. Damn those skinny jeans.
Stripped down to shorts and t-shirts, we propped open the balcony door in our fourth floor walk-up and logged the day’s footage as we listened to the rain. It’s times like these I’m glad we don’t have internet.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
el Presidente
I may pack light, but I always keep an oxford in the bank. Had to look good for today’s meeting with the President. Whoa, whoa… that may seem SUPER impressive given the American definition of “President,” but in Poland, a President is like a Mayor. So it’s not SUPER impressive, but still- impressive… I mean, she’s the woman in charge of this metropolis, and we got to sip bubbly water in her oval-ish office. We had fifteen minutes to ask her anything… and once Philip turned on that ol’ charm of his, we were talking policy until her staff started banging on the door 45 minutes later. Really cool woman with a lot of good vibes to get out about her city. It’s just too bad we couldn’t understand it. For her own ease, and probably to speed up the interview, she’d switch to Polish once the cameras started rolling. Of course, I could be sitting here all proud of the interview while our translator could come back with a transcript saying something to the effect of “you Detroit punks can suck it.”
After our view from high upon the city throne, we traveled underground, literally and figuratively. Beneath a run-down train station, we met with Wiktor Skok, a champion of the underground DJ scene. His picture of the city wasn’t quite as rosy. Same goes for the graffiti artist we spoke with. But they've still got hope. And when times get this tough, that's all you really need. Hope. Like Obama's campaign slogan. He's President too.
...okay, now I'm just trying to force the whole full-circle thing. Sorry.
After our view from high upon the city throne, we traveled underground, literally and figuratively. Beneath a run-down train station, we met with Wiktor Skok, a champion of the underground DJ scene. His picture of the city wasn’t quite as rosy. Same goes for the graffiti artist we spoke with. But they've still got hope. And when times get this tough, that's all you really need. Hope. Like Obama's campaign slogan. He's President too.
...okay, now I'm just trying to force the whole full-circle thing. Sorry.
Monday, May 30, 2011
this guy must really like Yo La Tengo
…because that’s the shirt I’ve been wearing the past three days. I’m pushing it, I know. But it’s not like I stink. (and I check frequently). We’ve just been going nonstop. No point in dressing up just so I can lug around two bags of equipment as I try to steady a bigass lens. And I can always take a shower…
Lukasz: If you want hot water, just turn on the hot and listen for the clicking sound. Once you hear the flame, turn it on all the way.
Me: And the cold water…?
L: Yeah, the knob is missing.
M: So, how do you add cold to the hot?
L: It won’t get that hot.
Sunday afternoon, we finally finished working while the sun was still up. Gave me a little time to wash a handful of socks. I think this is my most efficient packing job yet: 4 shirts to last me 4 months. Might make for a plain facebook album, but oh well. At least I’m better off than the German motorcyclist I met in Zanzibar- 2 shirts for 2 years. That’s pretty hardcore. Then again, “hardcore” is the name of his game- riding from Frankfurt to Cape Town, shipping his bike to the tip of South America and heading north through Los Angeles. I was pumped to reunite with him in my west coast home, but timing has never been my strong suit. He’s due to arrive in LA next month.
Sunday's interviews: an Urban Planner working at a University here in Lodz and a group of guys straight out of college who are starting the coffee shop of all coffee shops on the main drag. Pretty cool. And what’s even cooler- remember the café owners we interviewed a couple days ago… well, their café (called Fruits and Vegetables) is where we met these new guys. The owners of Fruits and Vegetables are actually encouraging these young guys to develop their own café idea. Fostering their own competition. That’s community.
Oh yeah- and I forgot to mention that a local radio show came to our set the other day to interview us. If you’re scanning through Polish talk radio, check it out… of course, you’ll also have to travel back in time, because like I said, it happened the other day.
In a perfect world, I'd end every day with a short post relating to everything as it happens. ...that world would also have hot hot water.
Lukasz: If you want hot water, just turn on the hot and listen for the clicking sound. Once you hear the flame, turn it on all the way.
Me: And the cold water…?
L: Yeah, the knob is missing.
M: So, how do you add cold to the hot?
L: It won’t get that hot.
Sunday afternoon, we finally finished working while the sun was still up. Gave me a little time to wash a handful of socks. I think this is my most efficient packing job yet: 4 shirts to last me 4 months. Might make for a plain facebook album, but oh well. At least I’m better off than the German motorcyclist I met in Zanzibar- 2 shirts for 2 years. That’s pretty hardcore. Then again, “hardcore” is the name of his game- riding from Frankfurt to Cape Town, shipping his bike to the tip of South America and heading north through Los Angeles. I was pumped to reunite with him in my west coast home, but timing has never been my strong suit. He’s due to arrive in LA next month.
Sunday's interviews: an Urban Planner working at a University here in Lodz and a group of guys straight out of college who are starting the coffee shop of all coffee shops on the main drag. Pretty cool. And what’s even cooler- remember the café owners we interviewed a couple days ago… well, their café (called Fruits and Vegetables) is where we met these new guys. The owners of Fruits and Vegetables are actually encouraging these young guys to develop their own café idea. Fostering their own competition. That’s community.
Oh yeah- and I forgot to mention that a local radio show came to our set the other day to interview us. If you’re scanning through Polish talk radio, check it out… of course, you’ll also have to travel back in time, because like I said, it happened the other day.
In a perfect world, I'd end every day with a short post relating to everything as it happens. ...that world would also have hot hot water.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
From Sean Connery to um… Sean Connery
Day 4 (Friday)
History speaks. Interviewed a former factory worker today. The grizzled old Sean Connery lookalike took us around the ancient ruins of one of the giant textile plants. And then we got a rare glimpse of one of the only factories still in operation- a dozen machines the size of billiard tables clanking and whirring as giant spools of thread get spun into king-sized sheets. Clank! Whir! Clank! Whir! Huh?! Earplugs do what now?!
From there, it only got louder. And awesomer. Luka (our sound guy) played a show with his band at a bar on Piotrkowska Street (the main drag, and apparently the longest street of straight up commerce in Europe). Philip and I skipped dinner to get a front row seat for an endless night of vodka, ouzo, and great music. Seriously, great- they covered an Iggy Pop song. And they didn’t just “play” the song either. It was their own kickass Polish rendition. Wish I had a recording of it. Heck, I’m surprised I even remember it. When the ouzo was poured, Philip had instant flashbacks of a night he spent in Turkey that resulted in the “worst hangover ever.” …Of course, it’s not like we could say ‘no’… We needed the calories.
2am
We sat on the bar’s front porch, watching the rain. Damn. We still had to walk home… and if we wanted a kabob on the way, we’d have to run one block in the opposite direction. …You bet your ass we sacrificed dry clothes for a kabob. Delicious.
Day 5 (Saturday)
Dragging. But not as bad as Luka. He stayed on that porch until 4 or 5 (he couldn’t really give us a specific time). Interviewed the organizer of critical mass- a huge gathering of bikers that take over the streets to promote clean forms of transportation. And when I say huge, I mean HUGE. We’re talkin’ hundreds of bikers. And the day we showed up to film, it was raining and there were still hundreds of bikers. That’s passion.
We also ran around the University of Lodz with all the people playing this week’s “City Games.” It’s like a scavenger hunt, but each checkpoint involves some sort of task (usually revolving around science). It’s the kind of thing that might sound lame to an eighth grader, but once you start playing, it’s pretty freakin’ sweet. For one task, groups used a smoke machine to navigate through a maze of lasers that are set to trigger alarms. The only thing our footage is missing is a chick in skintight leather ala “Entrapment.” Huh- Sean Connery’s in that. I love it when things come full circle.
History speaks. Interviewed a former factory worker today. The grizzled old Sean Connery lookalike took us around the ancient ruins of one of the giant textile plants. And then we got a rare glimpse of one of the only factories still in operation- a dozen machines the size of billiard tables clanking and whirring as giant spools of thread get spun into king-sized sheets. Clank! Whir! Clank! Whir! Huh?! Earplugs do what now?!
From there, it only got louder. And awesomer. Luka (our sound guy) played a show with his band at a bar on Piotrkowska Street (the main drag, and apparently the longest street of straight up commerce in Europe). Philip and I skipped dinner to get a front row seat for an endless night of vodka, ouzo, and great music. Seriously, great- they covered an Iggy Pop song. And they didn’t just “play” the song either. It was their own kickass Polish rendition. Wish I had a recording of it. Heck, I’m surprised I even remember it. When the ouzo was poured, Philip had instant flashbacks of a night he spent in Turkey that resulted in the “worst hangover ever.” …Of course, it’s not like we could say ‘no’… We needed the calories.
2am
We sat on the bar’s front porch, watching the rain. Damn. We still had to walk home… and if we wanted a kabob on the way, we’d have to run one block in the opposite direction. …You bet your ass we sacrificed dry clothes for a kabob. Delicious.
Day 5 (Saturday)
Dragging. But not as bad as Luka. He stayed on that porch until 4 or 5 (he couldn’t really give us a specific time). Interviewed the organizer of critical mass- a huge gathering of bikers that take over the streets to promote clean forms of transportation. And when I say huge, I mean HUGE. We’re talkin’ hundreds of bikers. And the day we showed up to film, it was raining and there were still hundreds of bikers. That’s passion.
We also ran around the University of Lodz with all the people playing this week’s “City Games.” It’s like a scavenger hunt, but each checkpoint involves some sort of task (usually revolving around science). It’s the kind of thing that might sound lame to an eighth grader, but once you start playing, it’s pretty freakin’ sweet. For one task, groups used a smoke machine to navigate through a maze of lasers that are set to trigger alarms. The only thing our footage is missing is a chick in skintight leather ala “Entrapment.” Huh- Sean Connery’s in that. I love it when things come full circle.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Ketchup
Internet isn’t always easy to come by, so it’s easier to type the blogs at home and upload a bunch when I get a chance.
Day 0
I’ve made up my mind- Lodz is awesome. Just a few hours after arriving, seven of us gathered around a kitchen table talking and playing games until the wee hours of the morning. Maybe it was the assorted vodkas. Or more likely it was the energy in the air. The similarities between cities run deep. Like minded people; like minded projects. And did I mention the vodka? Looks like waking up at 3am didn’t really matter after all.
Day 1
On our first full day, Michal (our main man and contact here in Lodz) hooked us up with his good friend Malena- who just happens to be a professional tour guide. She showed us the dozens of dilapidated factories, the three renovated ones, the Lodz film school, the Jewish cemetery, and even the old ghetto (as in WWII, not South Central). We asked her to sit down for an interview, so we can cram at least an ounce of her historical perspective into the film, but she’s shy. Hopefully we can convince her. I mean, wouldn’t you want to know why this tiny farming town was “chosen” by the Polish government to be the manufacturing capital of Eastern Europe?
Day 2
Shot our first interviews. We talked to the owner of Pan Tu Nie Stal- a super hip independent clothing company that specializes in locally designed T-shirts and home furnishings as well as retro children’s toys. Then we spoke to a gal at Polityka Krytyczna- an organization determined to strenghten the voice of the people and challenge city hall. Both very cool places. And very different.
Day 3 (caught up)
Getting a little more prestigious. Just interviewed the equivalent of Miss America- Miss Polonia. She’s a Lodz native, a big fan of the city, and incredibly hot.
We also spoke to a guy who engineered a virtual tour guide system in the city. Kinda hard to explain in brief, but basically there are bar codes all over the city, and using a smart phone, people can scan them to learn interesting historical facts. Narration, pictures, video… super sophisticated stuff. But don’t worry, Milena, nothing beats the personal touch of a good tour guide.
Currently, I’m sitting in a café while the footage from earlier downloads to the computer. But of course, this isn’t any normal café… the owners use this space to foster creative collaborations from all over the city. Our host Lukasz comes here all the time. …And it’s not just to get away from the annoying Americans sleeping on his floor. The café is the perfect meeting place for just about any program. In fact, in ten minutes, we’re heading out to the parking lot where they’re hosting a cross-cultural event between Polish and Hungarian artists. They’re painting a car, putting on a concert… a whole bunch of stuff is happening… maybe I’ll just go film it and tell you about it later.
Day 0
I’ve made up my mind- Lodz is awesome. Just a few hours after arriving, seven of us gathered around a kitchen table talking and playing games until the wee hours of the morning. Maybe it was the assorted vodkas. Or more likely it was the energy in the air. The similarities between cities run deep. Like minded people; like minded projects. And did I mention the vodka? Looks like waking up at 3am didn’t really matter after all.
Day 1
On our first full day, Michal (our main man and contact here in Lodz) hooked us up with his good friend Malena- who just happens to be a professional tour guide. She showed us the dozens of dilapidated factories, the three renovated ones, the Lodz film school, the Jewish cemetery, and even the old ghetto (as in WWII, not South Central). We asked her to sit down for an interview, so we can cram at least an ounce of her historical perspective into the film, but she’s shy. Hopefully we can convince her. I mean, wouldn’t you want to know why this tiny farming town was “chosen” by the Polish government to be the manufacturing capital of Eastern Europe?
Day 2
Shot our first interviews. We talked to the owner of Pan Tu Nie Stal- a super hip independent clothing company that specializes in locally designed T-shirts and home furnishings as well as retro children’s toys. Then we spoke to a gal at Polityka Krytyczna- an organization determined to strenghten the voice of the people and challenge city hall. Both very cool places. And very different.
Day 3 (caught up)
Getting a little more prestigious. Just interviewed the equivalent of Miss America- Miss Polonia. She’s a Lodz native, a big fan of the city, and incredibly hot.
We also spoke to a guy who engineered a virtual tour guide system in the city. Kinda hard to explain in brief, but basically there are bar codes all over the city, and using a smart phone, people can scan them to learn interesting historical facts. Narration, pictures, video… super sophisticated stuff. But don’t worry, Milena, nothing beats the personal touch of a good tour guide.
Currently, I’m sitting in a café while the footage from earlier downloads to the computer. But of course, this isn’t any normal café… the owners use this space to foster creative collaborations from all over the city. Our host Lukasz comes here all the time. …And it’s not just to get away from the annoying Americans sleeping on his floor. The café is the perfect meeting place for just about any program. In fact, in ten minutes, we’re heading out to the parking lot where they’re hosting a cross-cultural event between Polish and Hungarian artists. They’re painting a car, putting on a concert… a whole bunch of stuff is happening… maybe I’ll just go film it and tell you about it later.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Budget Airport - Not Worth It
The flight from London to Warsaw was supposed to be a simple one. That’s the whole reason I came to London. Tickets from LA to London were cheap. And tickets from London to Warsaw were really, REALLY cheap. Now I know why. Base price for Warsaw flight on WizzAir: $69. Then add fees for checked baggage (only 1 carry-on allowed), a $30 bus ticket to London- Luton (the cheap-o airport on the edge of town)… and already, we’re way into triple digits. Not to mention, Luton is so far out of town, I had to wake up an extra hour and a half early. So my reasonably timed 8:15am trek actually began at 3:30. Running on empty. Not the best way to start.
London - check
Okay, enough of this "guy I met on the internet" stuff. Ramon and Ronald aren't even "friends I met on the internet. They're "friends." Cheesy, I know. But when you spend all that time together- wandering the city until you fall asleep on the bus, sipping homemade firewater (liquor), and watching Ronald try to fix the fuse box hoping he doesn't electrocute himself- bonds form rather quickly. In three days, I saw about as much of the city as anyone could. And when Ronald and Ramon had to work, I met up with a photographer in East London, Eduardo, who showed me the coolness of the city in a non-tourist way. Awesome.
(Ronald, me, Ramon)
("If someone tries to hurt the Queen, I'll throw hot coffee on him and you stab him.")
(Ronald, me, Ramon)
("If someone tries to hurt the Queen, I'll throw hot coffee on him and you stab him.")
Friday, May 20, 2011
the creepiest tourist...
that's me. I spent my time sitting in the airport and the whole first leg of my flight with my eye up to a gigantic camera, recording snippets of people as they got luggage from the overhead bins or got up to go to the "loo." I was just testing color settings. I don't think anyone noticed. ...I know, I know- now you expect me to post one of those videos... but I'm not that much of a creep. I deleted them.
You know who's not even remotely a creep...? The random guy I met on the internet. I don't think I could ask for a better situation. A little guest room on the second floor, fireplace, lovely garden view, and as I type, the sweet smell of home cooking drifting through the townhouse. Mmmm. I'm gonna go eat it.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
departure
In less than twelve hours, it begins. Rough schedule: fly to London, spend a few days testing the new camera (on a cliche picture of Buckingham palace no doubt), then off to Lodz to start shooting. Through this film, we're gonna see what it means for a city to be post-industrial, and what it takes to carve a new identity. But don't worry, I'm sure it won't be all inspirational education. Just ask my host in London- he's a random dude I met on the internet.
Things are about to get interesting.
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