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?
My name is Kelley Brannon. I will be leaving NYC in roughly four hours to continue production on my documentary feature "Tools of the Trade" which examines identity, consumerism, and culture in social media. I have been working on this project for the last six months or so and have been filming in NYC and Boston, but now I am taking the show on the road: I will be filming interviews and conversations across the US and Europe.
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