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COTW MOVING TO CAPE TOWN!?!?!?!?!
wow, can't believe my last blog was back in 2013! sorry for the long radio silence! the holidays passed with reverence and optimism for a banging 2014! then @ jan 15 i had en epiphany...my life in here had gotten incredibly small. i have become a compound shut-in. basically only going out to buy more groceries to last me another week. i realized that my world had become all about avoiding the hassle of crap roads and bad traffic. a terrible combination.
then the sore reality that my business wasn't really making any money but actually losing money every month for the past 16 months. and it's funny, but making no money is no fun. and with my work permit due to renew in May for another $4000, including the fixer, for 2 more years...if they would in fact renew me...left me feeling "meh".
this country is changing fast and i don't know if i'm allowed to say in print it's not for the better. ever since or maybe before the ICC thing, it seems westerners are no longer wanted or welcome, and the chinese are the new BFF. less accountability for sure. no more BIG BAD WEST telling em what to do or how to behave, Obama included. and the way they treat and pilfer their own people is so unconscionable. it's nauseating. wish i could help but not my problem. they're going to have to stand up for themselves one day and decide enough is enough and things have to change. much easier said then done. and in the meantime, people still walk in the mud while their tax dollars never see the light of day. shameful.
so... i took a 10 day rekky (reconnaissance) trip to Cape Town to hang out with some Afikans friends i met in Israel last year. wow, my first time to the first world in 8 months! things actually work! the roads are smooth! they have street lights and stop lights and lanes painted and sidewalks and crosswalks and it's cheaper than here! quite a revelation! societies can function!
so, long story short, i found a place and i take it july 1. here's the link. i'm not on the lake...i have a fully furnished "superior suite" you can't see in the photo but it has that view of Hedelberg mountain! on a farm! walk in the vineyards!
http://www.papyruslodge.co.za
so here is this crazy little private village on a farm in the wine country and i'm thrilled! i never imagined i'd be leaving here, but here i go, the COTW heading off in a couple of months on still another adventure! excited! and "CT" has quite the legitimate film industry down there. lots going on. i may even get another acting agent and throw my hat in the ring! why not? another possible plan is to teach film at stellenbosch university (not far from my new digs). many many options down there. am definitely thinking of getting a second hand BMW motorcycle to see the wine country and visit all the vineyards. and a good mountain bike. get moving! time to get out and explore! one day: Namibia!
i had a strange feeling on this trip i was gong to run into somebody i knew and sure enough i did...at a vineyard named after my great grandfather and my namesake...Dieudonne...the "D" in "D. David". alycia lee from old malibu vineyard days says "hey d.david"...weird how i knew i was gonna run into someone! kinda cool!
so that's the update. been cutting The Sea Turtle documentary now for 3 months and can't wait to get that off my plate! but it's coming. the plan is to do 2 weeks of needed "online" post in CT march 15-31. and oh yeah, i'm off to Portugal for a film festival confab june 20-july 5 with LA cohort steve anderson.
we have lots of pics so let's get to em...i can't control the order but it doesn't really matter. you get the gist of it all!
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| sunday brunch at Peponi hotel with all the usual suspects! |
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| love these prop jobs, but the new airstrip is nearly done for commercial jets to land in lamu. |
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| my good friend from Harlem, and lamu local, Lee, aka "little harvey" from his days in federal pen! |
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| sundowner bliss |
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| you order coffee at Peponi just for the pot! |
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| Peponi terrace never gets old! |
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| chirstmas lunch with my acting students and friends, me just back from ethiopia! |
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| christmas day supper at simon lee's...he owns an actual cow! |
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| crazy tree roots! |
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| incredible colors on the compound! |
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| not Instagram...dirty windows for the selfie. |
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| actor workout day at HQ with some great people and serious talent! |
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| with my jockey friend from zimbabwe, "Q". |
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| bet heavy on horse #1! |
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| friends Pippa and LoJay also at the races! |
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| yeah, i'll miss my cat Paka-Paka, but he's not coming with to CT! |
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| one of the last dinner parties with friends who already moved to the Western Cape! |
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| USA bud matt chancey and his girls Felicity and Belle. hat day at the races! |
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| "and they're off". yes, i'm giving up my share in Trade Secret! |
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| another workout day at HQ. training up cam ops as well! |
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| Pippa, my safari bud, in the nat'l park. |
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| always fun to park and chill! |
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| Masai giraffe. |
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| lots of species enjoy the watering hole in this pic! |
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| my friend's house in cape town...between stellenbosch and somerset west. what a view! |
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| my sister heidi became a Hildebrand. fun to see this! |
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| on the V&A Waterfront in CT. |
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| Quay Four on a friday afternoon...oh yeah! |
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| nice salt water pool! it was summer! |
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| Ahhhh, the braai awaits! my USA BBQ skills paid off! |
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| incredible view of False Bay from Ovu Mira vineyard up the hill! |
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| yum... |
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| here's my vineyard! |
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| very cool... |
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| ostrich for lunch. |
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| my afrikaner friends! good people! |
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| could be switzerland! |
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| the views all around CT are stunning! |
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| sundowner sail in lamu on a Leopard 44. nice! |
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| Lamu channel with manda on the other side |
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| the inimitable Errol Trzebinski. my favourite lamu character, well known writer, and solid friend. |
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| lamu house courtyard...nice! |
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| meanwhile, back on the cat! |
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| an aging dhow |
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| the peponi water taxi dhow to the airport! |
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| walking in the vineyards of the Western Cape. |
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| donkey passage in lamu by peponi |
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| heading back to the airport |
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| this boat was a tank...but a perfect tank for smooth sailing! UNTIL NEXT TIME!!!!!!! XXOOO COTW! |
