In a mad world, only the mad are sane.

--Akira Kurosawa

This is a publicity photo from the nice people at Thunder Road Magazine. A lot of people say that Biker Cat and I look alike. What do you think?

Ariunaa Tserenpil with a crooked mouth Biker Chef. Ariunaa wants me to come to Mongolia; she thinks Biker Chef will fit right in. I definitely want that to happen. She also knows a descendent of Genghis Kahn and is going to help me with that for the PAH-FEST Bugsy Kahn Award presentation in Grants, NM. Now, I have to work on the Bugsy Siegel side of it. That may prove to be more difficult.

I've been reading up on the man. He conquered more of the world than any conqueror before or after him. And, he lived in a tent out in the middle of nowhere. He was brutal when he had to be, yet was the most religiously tolerant leader ever before and in some ways after. He would hold sporty debates in which a Priest, Rabbi and Oman would discuss the merits of their religion. In the end, the Mongols would say believe what you want, but God cannot be contained in a room. God is everywhere at all times. Like the Native Americans, they worshiped the sky which all people reside under. Women were given the outmost respect and had a lot of power in the new Kahn unifying civilization, more so than any other ancient civilization and even many modern societies. All of this, while the Catholic Church was burning people at the stake for their beliefs and to make a point who's God would be tolerated who's wouldn't be. I'm writing all of this, because I'm on my way to ABQ from Las Vegas to meet with a contingent of Mongolian delegates and artists. It's odd, because I have been saying I want to give out a Bugsy Kahn Award to the most forcefully creative digital artist at the PAH-FEST. Bugsy Siegel saw Las Vegas in the middle of the desert when no one else did. Genghis Kahn saw a great civilization from the isolation of his tent. They both acted on it and made it happen. I've been trying to find a descendent of Mr. Siegel and Mr. Kahn to give the award. I received an e-mail about Mongolian Artists coming to New Mexico. I don't think this is a coincidence so I am hustling my butt to NM. I'll let you know how it goes.

CRC says...

I am an extremely proud Papa. I always tell my son that his patron saint is Joe DiMaggio...they were born on the same day.

I saw this on the internet. I found it to be humorous, except it's totally not true...they left out that I spend a lot of time in Grants as well.

" With the booming film industry here in the Duke City, you are as likely to run into Richard Gere at the Flying Star as Dick Knipfing at the Frontier. Gere is more talkative, even if he is less balanced in his opinions. Walking Downtown, you are more liable to bump into Jennifer Lopez than you are Cynthia Izaguirre (although I don't recommend it). And when he's not getting state employees fired, Christopher Coppola has become a local socialite and filmmaker, splitting his time between L.A., Albuquerque and Palermo."
--excerpt from NM Alibi.

In the brave new world of the digital arena, content is still king. Except now, there are limitless ways to market yourself, create a brand, find an audience, exhibit your content, collect revenue, make strategic alliances with like minded content creators--it's universal for all, big and small. These are very exciting times, my friends; however, you will have to roll up your sleeves to make it happen.

CRC says...

All the soarings of my mind begin in my blood.
--Rainer Maria Rilke

This award has a major juice factor going on. One day maybe the EARSXXI/PlasterCITY team can take it home. You never know...

CRC says...

I'm in Vegas with 20 other members of the EARSXXI/PlasterCITY teams to take NAB by storm. I will let you know what happens.

We had a great meeting yesterday regarding PAH-FEST 2006: THE CREATIVE BOMB PX1 LAUNCHING. My team is hard at work and a detailed announcement will be made shortly on the EARS web page. You will be able to submit digital shorts and features, be part of a team mobiflicks contest and an Everybody Vision Cell phone 1 minute flick contest. There will also be a Technology Treasure Hunt for teens. We really are going to turn Cibola County, New Mexico from the land of defunct uranium mines to the place that sparks creative minds.

Photos by ASC

Why does this sculpture do something to me? It's a mess, but there's something about its aesthetic clumsiness that gets inside me. Maybe because it covers all the bases...baby mini dolphins in perfect fighter pilot formation, a naked modern woman with Liberace drapes, an oddly compact jovial bull and a strange fleshy, but completely stiff cherub that seems to have a rod up its ass holding him in place. It's all very odd in a pleasingly innocent, yet carny-like humorous way. I also like how it is in front of an Ames Home Loan bank. Life is good and I'm happy now.

The past few days I have been angry at myself and at the world. It's been hard for me to shake it off. Every morning at the gym I see the three video monitors. One has a ridiculous MTV show called Super Sweet 16, the other has a Christian infomercial trying to raise money for poor children. Both are over-the-top propaganda fluff shows. One tauting the supposed happy "rich"; the other milking the supposed sorrowful "poor". The middle monitor is the only sane one--it usually has a sports event: baseball, soccer,etc. I keep wanting to tell the gym managers to turn off the crap, but that would be seriously wrong of me. So, I stew inside.



I like to go shopping when I am angry. Being around ingredients calms me. I heard someone speaking Japanese and giggling. I turned to find a young Japanese businessman taking my picture with his cell phone. I still wasn't completely calm yet. He stopped giggling. I walked up to him and politely asked him why he took my picture. He meekly said, "You are biker". I smiled. I told him I was the Biker Chef. That he could find a very good wasabi marinade on aisle 4. It goes very well with large sea scallops. He looked at me funny. I told him I wasn't finished with him yet. He needed to e-mail me the photo he took of me. I made him do it. Then left...still angry.

The other memory is of my younger brother singing "I'm your monkey, be my monkey, to be real!" over and over while floating on an orange raft in his pool.

From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that we are here for the sake of each other - above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.
--Albert Einstein

Jesus might have said, "I became man for you. If you do not become God for me, you wrong me."
--Meister Eckhart

Freedom is a simple word.
Or is it?
Some countries do not know how
freedom feels.

Freedom feels like a warm pillow with
your head sinking into it. It feels
like thinking out loud in public.
It feels like water curling slowly
across your foot. It feels
like happiness.

CRC says...

A Ride to Spirit Rock By Tom Sebastian

The substance of this article takes place in 3.7 miles. It is the
precise distance of my short journey with a hitchhiker making his way
into the Valley. As it turned out, I was to be the last leg of his
travels. He had a small sign which read "Spirit Rock." It was a good
sign, on sturdy, white cardboard. I noticed that "Highway 37" was
written on the back side. I thought of the ridiculous navigation system
in my car that doles out bits of information in a pretentious English
accent to places I can't now remember. I admired the hitchhiker's
system. "Where are you coming from?" I asked. "North Carolina, sir" he
answered in a gentle, pre-occupied twang. All of his attention seemed
to be focused out the front window. "This is the most beautiful place
I've ever seen," he said talking more to himself than to me. "How long
has it taken you to get here?" I asked slowly, not to break his gaze.
"As of this moment, Sir, one week and 6 hours." I realized this man
was on a journey and not a trip. I realized he probably remembered every
part of it. I wondered how long he had been waiting for this exact
moment. As we drove down the lane to Spirit Rock we had to stop and wait
for a group of Wild Turkey's to cross. He looked out the side window
and said, "I saw one of those on the road on my way here, but sadly the
one I saw was deceased. Look at 'em all. Just look at that." As we
pulled up to what appeared to be a main building, I asked the man why he
had come all this way to Spirit Rock. "I'm applying for a job as a
cook. I read about it on the internet, and I figured rather than call
them on the phone, I would just come on down. They don't know I'm
coming. I guess we'll just see what happens. Thanks for the ride." I
travel that stretch of road every day. I go to work where everyone
knows I'm coming and why I'm there. Every moment of my day is accounted
for in some way. I have thought a lot about the hitchhiker. Where
would I travel for one week and six hours? What place would I write
down on my cardboard sign? When was the last time I said, "we'll just
see what happens?"

Ironside and CRC proudly present the students and mentors involved on the weekend shoot. They were motivated, down 'n dirty with very little tude and did a helluva job...next step BBVM.

The artist belongs to his work, not the work to the artist.
--Novalis

CRC says...

Francis Coppola's chief efforts at the time involved... the development of his 'electronic cinema' method of using video and digital technology in preparing and shooting feature films - with plans for electronic distribution and exhibition as well, which Coppola predicted would bring Hollywood 'to its knees'.
--John Lewis

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FRANCIS

CRC says...


PAHscript3revisedmc.doc

It's the official first day of Major League Baseball and I can feel it. Thank God for Baseball.

Just as God has given different fingers to the hand so has
He given different ways to men.
--Mongke Khan

"New Mexico's new PAH-Flicks program that I am spearheading has become such a monster of a project, that my team and I need to shift our efforts away from the Duke City Shootout and fully concentrate on this state-wide initiative. We are very proud of this program and think it will give New Mexicans an extensive production training program that will inevitably provide more jobs for the state. We are sad that we will not be involved in Duke City this year, but I know that the DFI team will continue to make the competition a fun and immersive filmmaking experience".

--Christopher Coppola

CRC says...

www.worldschoolphotographs.com