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.