Why I am not in Amsterdam: US Airways, Flight 798 from Philadelphia to Amsterdam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSZy9sbAXsk


It's been a long few days. The night before my flight from San Francisco was incredible: I met a few people and we shared a bottle of wine right in SFO airport. We stretched out in sleeping bags and were never disturbed. The next night, however, was a disaster.

My flight from San Francisco stopped in Philadelphia around 4:30pm for the connecting flight 798 to Amsterdam. The flight was scheduled to leave at 6:30pm. The plane was boarded, but we didn't leave the airport until after 7pm. Everyone in "economy class"(or as I like to say 3rd class) was packed in pretty tight. Roughly 20-40 minutes into the flight the air started to get really tight-to the point where you would expect the plane to level off or something, but instead of leveling off the oxygen masks came down.

It was surreal. People were quietly putting on their masks. Soon people started to put on their life vests. I was the only one talking. I was trying to get some answers (plus a life jacket is not going to save you in a crash landing). Instead of reaching for my oxygen I reached for my camera and recorded what was going on. The people sitting behind couldn't get their masks because the compartment above them didn't open. If you watch the video you'll hear a voice behind me ask someone for help, then for a credit card, and lastly a key as they were trying to jimmy the oxygen mask compartment door open.

I have always been scared of airplanes. I used to say that I would never get on a plane without a parachute. I am also a survivalist, but there is no way for me to survive a plane crash. I have no control. No last minute decision is going to make any difference when you're 40,000 feet up in the air, or at least not my decision making. People like to tell me planes are safer than cars, but the truth is I'd much prefer dying in a car crash than on a plane. Planes may be "safer" statistically, but the terrifying element is off the charts. People tend to die pretty quickly in car crashes while in an airplane I imagine you could be alive to hit the ground or be electrocuted, neither of which sound very appealing to me.

The oxygen masks and life vests weren't the worst part of it. After it was made clear that the cabin had lost air pressure (maybe from a value not completely secured, speculated one of the on board flight attendants) the aircraft was too heavy to land so while we were in Boston by the time all of this happened we returned to Philly and then spent two hours in the air ascending and descending. The sky went dark. People silent because the noise in the plane was stifiling. The plane's wheels were down and the wing 'stoppers' were up so as to burn the fuel as fast as possible (not to mention burning off a finite resource), and that my friend, was the worst.  A woman sitting ahead of me knitted while the sky got darker and darker. I filmed her for a solid fifteen minutes. I will try to put this video up as well. I think, though, I would have gotten on another plane had we been able to land in Boston, but I couldn't take the thundering noise and the oxygen masks flapping in front of me. The whole scene reminded me of a hospital gone very, very wrong.

When we mercifully returned to the ground around 11pm US Airways was determined not to cancel the flight (or set up accommodations) and so they had another plane ready in 20 minutes. I was a little irate by this point. Anyone who knows me can testify to my lack of self control in stressful situations. The last thing I wanted to do at that moment was to be on another plane, plus I wasn't even aloud outside, and not only did I desperately want a cigarette, but I really wanted to plant my feet on the ground.

To conclude: I was very stressed, pissed, and anxious. The airline staff (other than the on board flight attendants who really kept their heads and tried to answer my questions) were not very helpful. I wanted to leave. I have a friend in Philly that I could stay with that night. I decided to take my money and run. I demanded a full refund and left the airport as the new flight boarded. That decision was rash. Maybe not the best because I am regretful of it now, but I figured seeing the oxygen masks come down may not be the best sign to get before going to another country (with not that much money and very few connections I may add). In addition, it's hard to think straight when you've seen first hand the images from your worst nightmares. It's also hard to think straight when you've planned a month long trip to Europe (something I have never done before) and it doesn't happen.

I went back to the Philadelphia airport the next morning (yesterday). I explained the situation to an airline staff member and apologized for being a little excessive the night before (which I definitely was). The woman that I spoke with was nice, but could not get me another flight to Amsterdam. The tickets were voided (which included my return flight from Dublin to NYC) and I would have to purchase new tickets to continue on to Europe. Obviously that couldn't happen; I had purchased these tickets months ago when they were actually affordable (for my 3rd class wage that is). I still have a ticket from a different airline leaving from Paris July 21 to Dublin. I am trying to get a voucher.

As some of you might know, my grandmother is really sick and it's not the best time to be leaving the country considering my family is very "old school," meaning they aren't online in any way (my phone does not work in Europe, and besides, my mother doesn't even have an answering machine). I'm also on limited funds so if anything happened and I did somehow hear then I would have to wait for my scheduled flight back and that would suck more than not going to Europe.

However, I still needed to compensate for my feelings of failure and sadness (this was my third attempt at leaving the continental US, and I've had my passport almost nine years and have yet to use it other than Canada) so I got a return flight to San Francisco free of charge since that's where I started from. I had the great idea of going back to where I started as if I could do it again. That's a little unrealistic, even for me. On the plus side, my friend Dan whom I've known since the age of twelve, has been living in Tucson, Arizona for the last two years and I've never been out to visit him so that's where I'm going. I considered going up to the Rainbow gathering briefly (especially since Otter is there and I really did like traveling with him), but I don't think getting lost in hippie land is what I need right now, although I am still considering it...

Some of you may be thinking why didn't I just go back to NY? Well, for one thing, I had sublet my room for all of July so I didn't technically have a place to stay and the idea of making sandwiches at the bar I work or worked at did not sound very appealing either, nor did I want to go to New Hampshire, at least not right now, not yet. Maybe I am avoiding it. Who knows, either way, It's sad as shit to fly into the same airport you left from a day ago heading to Europe and knowing that's not going to happen this time.

I'm getting a ride to Sacramento later today from Amanda, a girl who posted the ride on Craigslist Ride Share.  I hope to meet with Deepak from the magazine (and talk to him  more about my documentary), but I might just head down I-5 instead. I'll be hitchhiking down to Tuscan because everyone wants tons of cash for a ride to Arizona when I know I can get there in two days max and for free. It sucks though. I really didn't want to hitch again here in the US. I feel like I'll never be able to leave this country. Sometimes I wonder if land even exists on the other side of the ocean...

Alas, "A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving" -Lao Tzu

Guess I got ahead of myself on this one. I uploaded the video to Youtube because I want to increase the likeliness of the airline seeing it (I did email them the link), maybe now they'll take aircraft inspection as seriously as they do  their security.

On the plus side, not going to Europe right now allows me to spend more time filming and editing my documentary here in the states. I will also have time to go to Facebook Headquarters this trip.

Tools of the Trade launched on Kickstarter

Please check out my project proposal on Kickstarter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1584789400/tools-of-the-trade-the-business-of-social-media

Spread the word! I have until August 16, 2011 to raise $5,000! I will be uploading a real trailer very soon.

I will filming some interviews with people here in San Francisco about Craig's List (that site began here). Then onward to the post office to mail a few more things back to New York, and then I will be heading to the airport tonight since my flight to Amsterdam is very early. I will return to NYC on July 28.

Another post will be coming shortly.

Thanks everyone for your support!

San Francisco and Selling a Car: Europe Tuesday morning and My plan worked!

To recap as briefly as possible: I interviewed Lauren at Ad Busters Media Foundation before leaving Vancouver. It was a short, but precise interview. Kalle Lasn wasn't in the office, but Lauren proved to be a credible source. My three ride sharers were getting ready to take buses since I was an hour late picking them all up. Finally, at 12:30pm we were on the highway. Less than an hour later we were at the boarder. Lasse and his girlfriend, Josephine, are from Denmark and Dan is Canadian. Needless to say we were all detained at the boarder and my vehicle searched. I guess it's not surprising since all of us are in our mid-twenties and from different countries, but two hours went by before we were allowed to leave, mostly due to Lasse and Josephine who needed to update their visas. Dan was ready to kill me since I kept exasperating the situation, and was obviously impatient with the officers. In my defense, the USA takes pride in making civilians feel small and guilty even when no crime or wrong-doing has happened. This was intolerable for me and I persistently commented on the propaganda on the wall behind the officer's that outlined the rights of Americans and feeling personally denied of them in this situation.

At least none of us (well, the USA had to let me back in) were denied access. I dropped Lasse and Josephine in Seattle, and since it was much later in the day than expected, Dan decided to stay on until Portland, Oregon. Actually, I brought Dan right to Erica's show since we were running so late. We caught the last twenty minutes. After the show, I returned Dan to the right freeway to hitch (he is on his way to LA). I interviewed Erica the next day about her tour (and it being booked almost entirely by myspace and facebook). Since Erica and I go way back, she decided to travel down with me to San Francisco because she had a few days before jumping on another music tour.

I arrived in SF three days ago. It was amazing at first to cross over the Golden Gate bridge and visit all the places that I used to go when I lived here (I lived here seven years ago for almost a year), but then good 'ol SF caught up with me and I remembered why I never came back here for any length of time again; not only is it freezing, but the city itself can be very cold hearted despite the hippie vibes: the city makes you feel like a bum, and more and more of the businesses' on Haight Street are only in business for the money, which is to completely ignore the culture that once made this section of the city cool. It's still, however,  good for me to be back and I was able to sell my car yesterday for $750, which is a lot considering my car has 191, 000 miles and does not have a catalytic converter which is needed to pass the California smog law. I told this information to all of the prospective buyers, and surprisingly a lot of people didn't care. The car ended up going to a girl in her early twenties. It will be her first vehicle. Her boyfriend came along to check it out too. It was a good experience and I think we all got what we wanted: she her first car and me enough money to put in my bank account for rent and to travel on in Europe.

Later today, Erica and I will be heading to the coast, now that the car business is done. I am planning on going to the airport tomorrow night so as to be prepared for my early flight Tuesday morning. For now, it's business: this blog, Kickstarter, and I have to email a few things to Deepak from Talent Magazine who will be featuring me and my film in an upcoming issue. I will also be working on preliminary applications for funding requests because I've decided to continue filming until October. I am putting together another trip for early September in which I will travel the Southern route of the US and end at the Facebook Headquarters in Palo Alto, LA. I could not make it there this time.

In other news: It is Pride week in SF, and I read a few days ago about New York legalizing gay marriage which is a great victory for people everywhere: on the road to equal rights. Yesterday, while walking around the Castro in SF during Pride (although today is the big parade) I saw some parents with their kids. I thought to myself that if I had kids I would take them to Pride and tell them that this is where we demand and celebrate equal rights for all people because that is really what it comes down to in the end, and isn't that the most important?

And then there was jazz and everything was beautiful

Libra Room Cafe! Good tunes last night.

I'm having a cup of coffee right now and then I'll be heading over to Ad Busters, which is only a 5 minute drive from where I am. Since I haven't received confirmation from anyone there I'm just going to show up and hope someone is around that isn't too busy to talk for a minute. Then I'll be picking up my ride shares who also live within ten minutes of where I am (and where I'll be). I'm really thankful for the riders because my money is tied up. I made a poor judgement the other day by using my card at an outside pay pump at a Husky gas station at 1am in a small town in BC, Canada. When my card was declined when I tried to buy a coffee later that day I looked up my statement online: the gas station had charged me $127 and my account was on hold. I stopped at another Husky (by now I was hours from the one that overcharged me) and a woman working there told me that if you pay outside Husky charges a set "fill" price. $127? At most my car takes 30 bucks,  but then I'm not driving an 8 cylinder SUV. Anyway, I called the bank and they removed the hold, but it's going to be a few days before I can get back the $127 (I actually only pumped gas to $1.41 since I realized right after I started to fill that the gas was ethanol and I didn't want it-my car being so old and all) so I'm left with $20 until the bank gives me my money back and I sell this car. I'm really hoping for a quick sale since my time margin is growing more and more narrow by the day.

Today, the Riders and I will be stopping in Seattle to drop off Ride Share Lasse and friend, then in Olympia to drop Ride Share Dan off. Then I will make my way to Portland where I will be meeting up with one Erica Russo and filming her show at The Hawthorne Theater and asking her more questions. I have grown to love asking people questions.

Is Ad busters ready? By the way, if you're not familiar with them then please look them up as they are an incredible organization of anti-media media pioneers. Kalle Lasn, founder  of Ad Busters and author of the book, "Culture Jam" is at the top of my list of inspiring people. It would be really great if he was in the office today (just putting that out there)...

Despite the 'for nothing' riots that took place here a few days ago, I still think Vancouver is pretty cool.

Through the Mountains to Vancouver, Free Pizza for me, and a dude walking down the street playing a didgeridoo

I've never been to Vancouver until now and I didn't really know where I was going an hour ago except Route 1 west. On a whim I took the First Ave exit and took my first right. I drove a little bit, crossed a cool looking street called Commercial, and then I saw the big bridge to the city. Since it was starting to get dark (yeah-I said starting at 9:30pm) I figured the bridge to the buildings could wait so I pulled a u-turn, pissed everyone off, and drove back up the hill I came down. I turned a right and ended up at a little park with ample parking. I walked up the few blocks to Commercial Street which looks like anything but the name: the street is trendy, sure, but  relaxed with a lot of little coffee shops and small stores. I stepped into a pizza shop that had a sign for $1.50 slices and also had wifi (out of habit I grab my computer when leaving my car) and chairs and tables outside. I bought a slice and just as I was firing  up my computer the pizza guy comes out with a box of pizza and tells me to have it. I turned around and looked inside the shop and could see they were closing. Awesome! The majority of pizza shops usually just throw it in the dumpster. Maybe I looked like I could use a few more slices, although I've been eating more on the road than I was in NYC, maybe it was my computer? Can technology get you free food? I say this because without my computer I would have kept walking on my way before the man would have thought to give me their day olds.

In film news: my interview with Gord Hotchkiss in Kelowna (a town supposedly only four hours away, in reality more like six) went really well, and I have concluded it worth the harrowing trip from up from Spokane, harrowing for the mountain roads, deer, and my interrogation at the boarder (keep in mind this is my second dip into Canada during this trip). At the Washington/British Columbia boarder the woman asked me to turn off my car. I did, but neglected to turn off my headlights. This wouldn't have been a huge deal if the woman hadn't questioned me for 25 minutes and searched my trunk. Finally, when I had convinced her (and she had the evidence to believe) that, yes, I do have filmmaking equipment and I'm not trying to get into BC for the pot, she let me go, but alas I couldn't, the old battery had died again. Since my last positing of the failing battery Otter, my temporary road buddy that I miss a little right now, and I both managed to kill the battery another three times during our travels-just by leaving the headlights on (hey, when it's foggy and daylight it's an easy thing to forget). Luckily a jump was easily accessible-then; this time over an hour went by before someone passing through the boarder had jumper cables (pretty slow at the 395 Highway border crossing on a Monday night). By now it was really dark and the boarder woman warned me about the deer "they're jumping tonight" she said. It's a good thing she said that because it stuck in my head and low and behold four deer over my course of Route 3 west were either slap dab in the middle of the road or running right in front of me. No deer were injured and I'm happy to say I can keep my "I've never hit an animal" status.

Earlier today I linked my blog to the flickr account I set up for the film, but then all the little thumbnails popped up on the blog and it looked very unappealing so I disconnected it, but feel free to go to flickr if you want to see a few snapshots taken with my computer. I will be uploading more and more as time goes on and I find more of it to dedicate to photo uploading (not my favorite activity).

I've got three people interested in my Ride Share offer from Vancouver heading south along I-5 tomorrow. One guy is going to Olympia, two others are going to Seattle, and one other guy wants a ride to either Seattle or Portland (but hasn't confirmed the ride with me yet, so...), needless to say it's going to be a full house and good for me since my funds are dwindling by the second. At least I have bread and peanut butter, free pizza, and a clear night to get me along...and promises of interviewing some awesome folks at Ad Busters in the morning (forgot to mention what brought me to Vancouver in the first place).

Missoula, Montana

I made it back into civilization after a long haul through both the Dakotas (North Dakota was one of two states I had yet to be in until yesterday-Hawaii is the other) and The Badlands. Otter, who I've been traveling with the past four days, has an annual National Park pass so we explored the valleys, buttes, and spires. We also crept up to the Crazy Horse monument (still in construction of course) and Mt. Rushmore. We saw both of these monuments without paying since they are easily visible from the narrow road that leads to them. I never thought dead presidents (and one time slave owners) could look so beautiful, but the sculptural detail and smoothness is inspiring. Only the roughest profile of Crazy Horse has been completed thus far.

The sun was going down as we traveled along Highway 12 heading west and many of the campgrounds (some that are BLM land and free to access) were flooded by the Yellowstone River which rose significantly due to all the rain this area has had in the last week. We saw a little camp sign off the highway in the small (small is an overstatement) town of Custer in the vast state of Montana. We pulled off and found the camping sign plastered to the side of a small cafe/bar in the middle of nowhere.

We went inside to discover an inviting place with a wrap around bar, a big pool table and smaller tables (outfitted with chairs on wheels, like the ones used in an office) were lining the wall. There was a group of four at one of the tables that turned when we walked in, but only in a "who are they?" kind of way. "Camping"i.e. parking behind the cafe and sleeping in the big grassy, un-mowed field was $10. We took it. It was a clear night and we really wanted to stretch out on the grass as opposed to sleeping in my car. A pitcher of Sam Adams was $8 so we split that and ended up hanging out there with the locals well into the night. I ended up playing pool with a guy named Dudley, who also told me all of his DUI stories and how he doesn't go into Billings anymore because of them, who, of course, beat me because he works in the kitchen at the bar and plays pool most nights. Otter, being clever enough to bring in his carved feathers (which he had made into necklaces and earrings), ended up selling all of them for $300 to one of the women sitting at the big table who owns a museum gift shop an hour away.

I also managed to get great content for my film by interviewing Gabe Scheiot, a rancher in his mid twenties who had moved back to Custer from the city. He had a lot of opinions, information, and interesting experiences dealing Facebook and social media. This was particularly interesting because there were a lot of people in the same bar who honestly didn't know what Facebook or Twitter was. Gabe also had a lot of thoughts about the city and is certain they will be the first places to perish which is why he's back in Custer and back to the land before it's too late.

It was a great night hanging out with some hicks and cowboys who were nonjudgmental and inviting. I also had a great night of sleep despite the chill in the air and woke up to the bright sun in my eyes, which, as everyone who has camped out knows, there is no other feeling like it.  Otter and I spent all today driving sleepily through Montana, only stopping a few time to switch off the wheel, get gas and coffee, and to take a quick nap. We pulled into Missoula an hour or so ago and it being a hip college town we found a great cafe to hang out in. It's drizzly and gray outside and there's no better place for me to be right now then in a cozy coffee shop and sitting at a big wooden table loading tapes and catching up on this blog (which I am certain I am the only one reading:).

Being on the road creates a little bit of a challenge to keep up on the news, but I've managed to read a few papers here and there. I read about the slaughter of protestors in Syria earlier today. This situation is out of control and I, and I'm sure all of you, hope the revolutionaries of Syria keeping pushing forward despite the brutality of President Bashar Assad.

Back to traveling and film news: I am on route to Kelowna, BC where I will be interviewing Gord Hotchkiss. In the meantime, I have collected very interesting material in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Custer, Montana. I'm planning on talking to people here in Missoula in the morning if we spend the night. Then we'll be moving onward to the best part of the Rocky Mountains in Montana (which are still snow capped), Idaho, and then Washington State. I will drop Otter anywhere he wants to go in Spokane, Washington where he is planning to meet up with friends for the gathering which has moved to Southern Washington. I will then make my way north (only 5 or 6 hours) to Kelowna, British Columbia (yes, back to Canada) then right to Vancouver, BC and then right to Portland Oregon where I will be meeting up with my good friend Erica Russo from Brooklyn who has been on a West Coast music tour, and who is also featured in the film. I will be taping her show at The Hawthorne Theater in Portland on June 23.

Further destinations include: San Francisco, Sacramento, and Palo Alto. Hopefully I will be able to sell the car in one of these cities because I fly to Amsterdam from San Francisco on June 28!

Stay tuned...More (hit or mis) adventures promised.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Otter and I just rolled into Sioux Falls, one of the two "big cities" in South Dakota. Sioux Falls is really more like a big town than it is a city, though they do have an orpheum theater, specialty shops, galleries, and apparently an Andy Warhol exhibit is coming as I read off a billboard from the freeway.  Obviously, there is also a cafe with wifi and electricity which is where I am posting up in for an hour or two.

Scattered along I-90 west (in Southern Minnesota) are small windmill farms. Each windmill is equipped with a red light that blinks on and off every five or so seconds. These lights only come on at night (I'm assuming for aviation purpose). We were driving passed them at 1am on the freeway last night and it was erie to watch all 100 red lights blink in unison as if they were their own entities.

After my equipment charges I will take to the streets and attempt to strike up conversations with some locals about how influential social media is in their lives and if they've seen their communities change because of it. Meanwhile, Otter is at the park carving more feathers, and I think he's planning on selling some of them to shops and people later today, though he has plenty of cash from previous sales as he's demonstrated by filling the gas tank twice.

In other news: I proposed my project to Kickstarter and they approved it so with any luck I will be launching it in a few days. Kickstarter, I believe, has its own server, thus I will be able to upload some HD video (though I think I only get to upload one). I was hesitant about Kickstarter at first, but I figured it would be good for the project to get a little publicity.

Yesterday, before we left Chicago, I received a call from a man named Deepak who writes for a talent magazine. I was a little confused, but apparently he read one of my Craigslist ads on ride share (where I describe myself as a filmmaker working on a documentary and heading west) and wants to feature my endeavors in both film and travel in his magazine. It still sounds a little dicy to me, but their office is in Sacramento, a mere hour east of San Francisco which is the city I'm flying to Europe from. We are planning a meeting for the day before I leave for Europe. I don't really want to be a source of revenue for another business. I mean, that idea is a central aspect of my documentary, but I figured I can meet with him anyway and see what its like.

TIME ZONES! I entered a new time zone in Chicago! One hour behind the East Coast! Yesterday, Otter and I crossed the Mississippi River which means, as everyone who has ever traveled from the East coast to the West knows, that we are officially in the West!

I have uploaded a few photos of Flickr. My USB cable has not been working with my video camera so these photos are ones that I took with my computer, i.e; not the best photography. Here's the link anyhow:

http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/toolsofthetradefilm/

Still in Chicago - On Route to Minnesota and the Dakotas Tomorrow

I'm hanging out with some traveling kids here. I took a shower for the first time since leaving NY(maybe I shouldn't advertise that) and I feel refreshed for the road and documentary filming tomorrow. Otter, the hippie (who claims not be a hippie) who called me for a ride to Washington, is coming along.

The interview with Liz Cheever today was brief, but very interesting. She had a few friends over and their responses to my questions were thoughtful and insightful. I almost forgot what it was like to be 18...

Right now, I'm somewhere between the city world and the traveling world, and I feel a little like a freeway split between the two. Right now Otter is carving out feather shapes from Buffalo horns (real horns) and Bear is playing guitar and signing a song, and I off course, am on this computer, drinking my shitty beer from yesterday, and getting ready to digitize some footage and write some notes and things.

Even though I feel a million miles away from the traveling lifestyle it is more familiar to me than most things in New York, and these guys, even with the silly "road" names, feel like family. Sweet sentiment, guess I'll have to admit I've missed this in New York (not to mention in college); but I'll also admit I miss the motion and texture of the city. I'm moving a little slower now, even if I am flying across states.

No hipsters here, these guys are the real deal.

Chicago! In Search of Liz Cheever

The great state of Illinois! While on my way here I passed through Indiana where I stopped at a bar; a low lit, empty space with a big pool table in the back. The place circled and lingered with smoke from the cigarettes hanging out from everyone's mouth (mine included). The bartender was a younger woman keeping the dudes in line. She was tough and guarded. No way to see any feeling behind her straight face. I sensed that she was tricking herself with some fantastic psychological spell in order to work there. I only wanted one beer (not to mention the draft options were a little limited: Miller Lite or Miller Highlife) but since I was carrying no cash I had to use my card ($10 minimum). So I asked if I could buy some singles (as equally limited as the draft options). She said a six pack was $7 and that would be good enough. So now I'm traveling around with a six pack of shitty beer in my trunk, but I imagine it will get less shitty as I move westward.

For now, I am charging my equipment. If I ever film on the road again I am investing in a generator because this process is very slow. It takes about 3-4 hours for my camera to charge up, then my computer, then my phone.  Fortunately, I'm at a Starbuck's (first time I've said that) and they have multiple outlets. It's still a wait for the camera, however. I think this is the main reason for my daily blogs.

CAR NEWS: I went to a mechanic in the town of Chelsea, Michigan. The mechanic looked it over and drove it around the lot and told me the following: the knocking sound is probably the back break pads and rooters. He said he couldn't see them with the cover on, but they are probably eroding.

I asked him if my wheels would come off.

He said no.

I asked him if I could still drive without back breaks.

He said my car uses the front breaks, but when the back breaks get really bad the noise will be horrific (not to mention more damage) because then it will be metal rubbing against metal.

I asked him if he thought the car would make it to California.

He shrugged.

I'm assuming that's a yes.

My car also leaks power steering fluid in buckets and it looks like that might be the main cause of the steering problem. He offered to run a safety inspection later in the day for $65, but I declined, thinking as long as my wheels don't go flying off when I'm going 70mph down the freeway than everything else should be okay.

How did I get the ridiculous idea of my wheels coming off? Well, I've always been paranoid of things falling on me or falling off (the main reason I hate airplanes) and when I had the oil changed a few days ago the guy doing it said my steering was really back and I should take it into a shop because my wheels could fall off. He didn't look or sound like he was joking...

...I wonder if Otter is good a fixing cars?

Getting Sucked Back into Hippie World

This always happens. So I posted a few cities that I'm going through on ride share earlier and I got a call from a dude who wants a ride to the Rainbow gathering in Spokane, Washington. I explained the situation, about me stopping in small and big towns and having conversations with people about social media, to which he replied, "That's great. While you're doing that I can sell my wood carvings and jewelry." Shit, I used to do that and I don't want to do that again, why? Because it's wares on you and it sucks.

BUT (and this is a big but) I started thinking that it might make an amazing component for the film: a juxtaposition between "Otter" (definitely a rainbow name) and the people I will be interviewing/talking to about social media. I mean, here's a guy who is living on the road, selling his crafts, and traveling more in real offline time than cyber world-mix that with the guy who doesn't know how to live without his internet phone.

I still don't know, but we're meeting up tomorrow night in Chicago after I'm done filming Liz, Mike's sister (Mike from the bodega wine bar) and her friends.

In other news: I am in the very small town of Lawrence, Michigan where I've found a great camping spot and took a nap in the sun for a few hours, but I'm still 120 something miles from Chicago, so I think I'll head back on the road and make more progress since I'll be meeting Liz at 12:30pm, even though this is the best sleeping spot I have found yet on this trip.

Thanks to The Waffle House of America for having wifi!

One more thing (and this was the reason why I drove over to the Waffle house from my camp spot) I can't get any of the video's loaded on vimeo because they are 2 or 3 gigs big. I want to upload clips from interviews, conversations, a crazy abstract film I made today in my sleepy field, and more. There is an option of Vimeo Plus which I might be able to afford if this hippie dude can come through with some cash, but right now my budget is tight! The membership is $60 and accepts 5 gigs a week. So, after that long pretense, if anyone is actually reading this and if those people would like to throw a few bucks in my corner that would be much appreciated. I can accept donations via paypal! I will send you a postcard from anywhere you like (though there are physical limitations) as well as listing you in the film's credits.

Think about it:)

Saudi Women Mobilizing to Lift Driving Ban

I'm listening to NPR in a cafe in Chelsea, Michigan and the story of Saudi Women using social media to mobilize a lift to the driving ban against women drivers is being discussed.

Yesterday I interviewed the incredible Natalie Zemon Davis (look her up) and we started talking about the different uses of social media, and it's challenging to place the mobilizations of protest and connecting societies in the same realm of entertainment and mundane social updates.

I guess it's similar to TV which always has more crap on it than anything of substance, but the difference here is in the fabric: TV is not a part of our lives the same way Facebook is. This boils down to one principle: location. In order to watch TV, and before the internet phone, most people had to be in a house, theater, or other location with electricity and cable. Facebook and other social medias are effortlessly portable. TV is also a static interaction whereas Facebook, and other social media, are dynamic and constant, obviously, it's called social media for its level of interactive capabilities.

Now, I am not about to preach censorship. I think it would be stupid for people to only be allowed to write, comment, etc., about certain things, but I am an advocate of personal responsibility and ownership, meaning that we should be held accountable to actions we take online. It's a federal offense for someone to open someone else's mail and it should be that same with email. As Sherry Turkle pointed out to me in an interview, "Democracy is based on privacy" (I'll leave the discussion on whether America is actually a democracy to a later date). This generation has different (if any) expectations of privacy than in generations past. It's common knowledge to know your emails are being looked at by third parties and that cookies may be placed in your browser. Businesses and advertisers should be banned from placing cookies in your web browser and sending ads based on key words in emails. This is an invasion of privacy, and also has another sociological effect: advertisers are only interested in key words, not the content of a whole, and not to say people are influenced by advertisers in ways of thinking (well, maybe), but I think generally people are becoming more like advertisers in the sense that a "tweet" or a "comment" is usually an immediate reaction to a stimulus. Reactions are usually triggered by key words that the person may or may not agree with, and not the content as a whole.

Of course this does not apply to every person, tweet, or comment, and this is a theory I have not tested or proven. Only my mere opinion and culmination of thought

Congrats to the women of Saudi Arabia! It's not easy to do what they're doing when men and women are against them (1,000 women signed a protest asking King Abdullah NOT to lift the ban), but they also have a lot of supporters and social media is an intricate part to the ban lift mobilization effort.

Personally, as an american, feminist, and traveler  it's incredibly difficult for me to imagine not being able to drive. Not only the action of driving, but being denied personal responsibility, privilege, and choice; as well as the forced dependency on a man and the resulting inferiority of being a woman. Shit. Where would I be?

Ironically, I filmed a short segment of myself driving while I was thinking about what Natalie had to say in the interview. I will be uploading this later today on my vimeo: vimeo.com/kelleybrannon

Hopefully very soon a woman from Saudi Arabia can share a similar experience of the open road, clarity of thought, and freedom of self.

Early Mornings

I just rolled into the section of Toronto where Natalie lives. It's 7am on a Sunday and all the shops are closed except one bakery I found that does indeed have wifi. Sitting with a dollar coffee and watching the light overtake the night is a welcomed change for me since I usually sleep until noon most days in New York.

My car battery died last night (I'm an idiot and left my headlights on while I was getting some work done on my computer), but I found someone to jump it for me at a bar across the street. I bought him a beer for helping me out and had one myself. Since I was on the outskirts of Toronto there weren't too many camping options so I crashed in the dark section of an empty Baptist church parking lot. Not the best night of sleep, but definitely not the worst, and  hey, it's easy to get up early when you're sleeping in a car and want to get out of there before church goers start showing up.

This film is definitely an experiment as I have never traveled before with this much technology. It's quite comical that I groomed earlier today in the bathroom of a Tim Hortons and now I'm about to shoot an interview in a few hours, this is what I call Hobo Filmmaking. Hee hee. :)

By the way, it's freezing here! I'm really glad I brought my trusty corduroy coat!

I have uploaded a short clip from Lake Ontario where I took a quick dip yesterday (very quick since it was freezing). Check it out at: vimeo.com/kelleybrannon

I am driving a death machine

I'm pretty certain at this point my wheel bearings are about to fall off or something because my car's steering capabilities are awful to say the least. I just arrived in the outskirts of Toronto (over crazy narrow bridges and eight lane freeways) and will be interviewing Natalie tomorrow morning. On Monday I will take my car to a shop because it appears that no mechanic in Canada works on the weekends. If the situation looks bad (i.e., expensive) I will try to sell the car while it still (kind of) works and continue across the country by thumb, ride share, and/or bus.

I am hoping to make it to Chicago mid day on Monday. In reality, it will probably be more like Tuesday.

In other news, apparently it looks suspicious if you're sitting in your car typing on a computer because a cop just approached me and asked me what I was doing. I explained that I was lucky enough to be picking up a wifi signal (lucky because I didn't have Natalie's physical address yet-I do now). After he looked at my id's (passport and driver's license) looked at me, looked again at the id's and looked again at me, I told him about what I was writing: my car falling apart and its wheels coming off. He gave me back both my id's and said, "Okay, well have a good night," and left. Huh, problems make cops leave. True enough, I suppose, since most of my bad cop encounters came from moments when I was doing just fine.

I guess some Canadians have picked up the American government ideology: "If it ain't broke fix it 'til it is," and if it is broken then leave it before you have to fix it.

Road Maps!

Man, I have been living in the city too long. I have gotten so used to quickly "googling" directions to places that I forgot to even bring my old road atlas! I think I left it in my box of paints in my apt. This will be my first purchase in the morning. For now, since I have access to the internet via a free wifi signal (I do not have an internet phone), I am getting my route via "googling," but then my plans will be made entirely offline.

Other things that I now realize I forgot in NYC:

My rechargeable batteries with battery charger which I left charging in an outlet. I use these for my mounted camera light

My extra tripod mount, I have great plans of rigging up a 'car cam' and this would have come in handy

A tapestry that I use when camping so I don't wake up in my sleeping bag soaked with dew

And I think I left $14 on the couch...

On Route to Toronto in search of Natalie

Natalie Zemon Davis, who resides in Toronto, Ontario in Canada, is the first person I will be interviewing on this trip. I am leaving Boston now, after bringing a friend and a (different) friend's cat up here from NYC. Since it took us over two hours to get out of the city today (due to the fact that I made a point to avoid all of the toll roads) we didn't roll into town until 6pm. I took a nap for a few hours and feel refueled at this 1am hour. I plan on driving until the sun comes up and finding a nice sunny field to camp in before continuing on. Since it's only a ten hour drive I won't have too far to go in the morning.

Next Stop: Chicago, with many small towns to wander through. I will also be picking up travelers on Craigslist's Ride Share (as well as any random hitchhikers) to help with the cost of fuel. Lucky for me and the riders that my 1995 Honda Civic Ex gets 40 miles to the gallon! It's by far the greatest aspect of this hunk of metal (well, the sun roof is pretty cool too). 

social media, identity, offline, online, filmmaking, tags, UPDATES for Tools of the Trade!

The act of disappearing is one of the many reasons why I've always loved traveling, thus a blog pretty much defeats that purpose. Well, times change. I'm no longer the 19 year old hitchhiking across the country without a cell phone or email address. I'm also a bit more directed in this venture because my travel is project centered, and since I need to think more about the project than myself I have decided to start a blog so others can travel along with me and witness firsthand the production of the most frugal film ever! So kick back, get a cup of coffee, use your indoor plumbing, and check back to this blog for all of my (mis) adventures making this film, exercising my good decision making skills, making real offline connections and networks, and using this blog which is my online contribution (I do not have a Facebook account). More information about the film, trailer, and it's resourceful director (that's me) will be coming soon. Bear with me and enjoy the ride.