africa blog: April 2013

A BUSY 2013

the first quarter has really flown by and it ended with a flourish. my nephew theo and i flew from LA to dubai then NBO and we're busy shooting various projects, including additional footage in lamu and watamu for a doco on the sea turtles all january and february. then i flew to zurich for 5 days, cambodia for 9 days, and back to zurich and zermatt for 4 days before flying back to NBO march 12. then i spent the next 2.5 weeks cutting 7 different videos together, plus did lots of color correcting on the 28 minute cooking show pilot. i was very ready to get to lamu when it was all done. one spent hombre.

here are the link for the videos on my Vimeo page if you're interested...

https://vimeo.com/home/myvideos

lamu is warm and the rainy season is closing in. have already had quite a bit of rain and power cuts, a la nairobi, but it's nice to walk the 8 mile deserted beach (even for a mile) and to swim in the warm indian ocean every day. and to leave the hustle and bustle of nairobi and the traffic and pot holes.

still, i have to say, i'm much more tolerant of nairobi in 2013 and i'm chilling. my first world world-view is less so and more "TIA-this is africa" tolerant. i get it. and you get what you get and you don't get upset. leaving Junction shopping mall the other night, i spent 20 minutes in traffic going about 500 yards. so gnarly. but my expectations are more in line with what is, not what could be or what should be. i'm adjusting to life here and going with the flow. you have to or you'll explode or blow up or both!

my brother exhorted me on Skype to "teach art or make art" with the rest of my life and it's been haunting me ever since. he's right. those are the two things i enjoy doing the most. so...the slingshot seminar series is back for 2013 at a much cheaper venue in NBO for 9 saturdays of seminars (all afternoon) and acting classes (in the morning). i'm already excited about it. starts june 1 with a seminar on Hollywood directing. and an acting class audition with sides from Bold and the Beautiful. should be fun.

lorella and i did a free monologue class a few weeks back on a saturday on the lawn below the Talisman restaurant and it was surreal having folks stand up and bust out a monologue under the trees to a small group of us. it was in preparation for The Actor's Monologue Challenge that next week at a NBO nightclub. we had a lot of fun. a very pure, organic afternoon of performing arts. now we'll do a 9 week course on acting as well.

heading off to jerusalem apr 24-may 4, so that'll be the next blog. the promised land. should be amazing. stay tuned world travel lovers.

life in lamu is slow and it takes a while to unwind when you're essentially a Type A personality like myself. but in time i unwind, and relax, and get in the groove. trying to finish my US taxes is definitely a buzz kill, but i gotsta get it done. Slingshot HQ has been really great. such a great live/work space. and lamu for some R&R. a great combo. very thankful for my accommodations indeed.

well, let's get to the pics, you're favorite part! sorry it's been a while, but i've been a cutting fool! time for a walk and a swim!

enjoy! COTW out!

tropical shela from my balcony in the rain.

mango tree my chef pitches me grilled jumbo prawns for tonight. why not?!

zurich train station on my way to zermatt.

walking down the slopes to find this hidden restaurant. glorious day, but the matterhorn was socked in.

matterhorn straight ahead. i wanted to ski so badly, but was only there for 90 minutes!

more zurich train station. a very cool old open space.

quintessential swiss chalet.

Bugel beer with the cool flip cork top thingy. very refreshing.

Matterhorn in the BG, covered in clouds. never did see the whole thing, but still worth the 6 hour train ride there and back.

you sit on sheep skins. very clever. a perfect day.

zermatt ski resort is 3 rolled into one. and they all connect. even italy side.

this crazy high-speed funicular flew us up inside the mountain to the slopes.

crazy steep.

scary going up and scary going down.

a train car on the matterhorn express.

interior train art

fast trains. clean lines. but who's alice rivaz?

de-icing the plane wing as we depart from zurich to NBO. really? yes, it was freezing!

high tech inter-terminal tunnel.

sunset over africa.

lorella and i waiting for the free monologue class to start.

easter sunday flowers at HQ

thunderheads in NBO shot from HQ. a very wet wet season!

BBQ chicken so cal style! yum!

rebekka gives Paka a hug. he beginning to look like a mountain lion he's so big.

some godbeams on easter sunday.

sweeping trees at the Purdy Arms Pub parking lot near blixen museum. it used to be a rehab center and now is a nice restaurant /patio/pub. locals say "let's meet at Rehab!" i'm in!

wilson airport. air kenya. lamu bound.

arriving at manda airstrip, sorting my boat transpo. local water taxi.

arriving in shela village. second home sweet home.

more shela. extreme high tide with no moon.

lamu taggage.

my crib is the dome in the middle that looks like a juicer.

my german friend sabrina came from stockholm, spent 6 months in lamu and decided to stay. she opened her own
place named, well, you can guess.

prime location near peponi hotel.

simple and clean inside. great latte's and banana cake.

this turtle carcass washed onshore one night at high tide. the next morning i wandered back to it, dragged
back into the water line for better lighting and just a better shot for filming it for the turtle doco. dead turtle
in the sand, not so sexy. dead turtle freshly washed up by the sea...must see TV!

wider shot dead turtle. my fingers smelled so bad for hours after dragging back to the water's edge. the flesh
was totally decayed and the shell i grabbed was also rotten. it didn't smell good. terrible. death is death.