in june of this year 2013 a man fell down the stairs in addis ababa. he broke his hip. he was an american. a cameraman, on assignment with another yank named brandon to shoot a fashion catalogue in africa. he flew home. so...brandon had to rent a canon 5D in addis in ethiopia and mounted the wrong lens and snapped the mirror off the 5D rental. oops. then he called his friend abe martinez in LA, the same abe martinez who got me to kenya in jan 2011 to shoot the film Leo. so abe tells brandon i have a 5D in nairobi...his next stop. brandon pops up with another american living in addis named aaron. 5 months later aaron tells Groom (an ethiopian) about me in addis and groom sends me a plane ticket to act in his film, Melt. so i spent 2 weeks in addis earlier this month acting in 2 films and sort of ghost directing groom's film all because a man fell down the stairs. and it looks like i may become a part of the ethiopian film scene next year all because this guy falls down the stairs. life is so random sometimes. or perfectly planned out.
A KENYAN FLAG
phoenix, AZ, 2005. a girl comes out of a furniture store where i bought a coffee table and sees my Kenyan flag on my rear window of an old white range rover. we chat. she's from kenya. met her hubby at cornell. we become fast friends. tells me all about Lamu after many dinners with her and her husband. then i finally go to lamu thanks to her september 2012. i love it. rent a place for 3 months, then renew for all of 2013. love lamu. meet great folks, and a sea turtle doco falls in my lap. a gift. Odo and the sea turtles of lamu. i'm cutting it now. and slingshot prods ends the year with a video shoot for peponi hotel...the hotel in shela village and world renowned. all because i have a kenyan flag on my rear window.
THE DRIFTWOOD INN
and tonight i'm at the Driftwood inn in malindi on the coast so i can see this popular skin doctor tomorrow morning en route to Nairobi. i need a check up, i'm prone to basil cells, and after my friends geno and dan had major skin work carved out of their heads, i better play it safe. still, i'm little nervous. hope nothing major and ugly pops up! i have a bad habit of not wearing any sunscreen on the equator…i just hate the glue feeling! but it’s stupid on my part with my past. oh well… so here i am, having a beer, the breeze is blowing, but the beach here is so ugly. lamu is magic compared to this place. anything south of lamu is tourist city and cars and and and. lamu is the jewel for sure. but i did my year there and feeling good about moving on. plus they’re supposed to have a killer steak here! so i'll check it out.
MAKING A LIVING OR...
despite 50 projects since i moved here, i'm still a horrible salesman and biz is iffy. don't have that killer "closer" gene. but the other day during a beach walk in lamu i thought about whether it's more important to make a living or make a difference. both is ideal of course, but i do think i'm making a difference in being here...at least 10 people in kenya and another 6 in ethiopia. IDK, something like that. but that matters more than making a huge living. that might come. be glad if it does, but happy to be making a difference in people's lives here if i can.
THIS MORNING...
so i'm sitting waist deep in the indian ocean this morning while the tide was whisking out and watched the sun come up and realized how great my year in lamu has been. met so many great folks and had so many fun adventures. plus my crib was so awesome and i did lots of dinner parties. it was a grand time and i'll never forget it. but next year another adventure awaits. i'm not re-upping for Moonhouses, i hope ill be traveling to film festivals with the Odo doco and selling it to every territory on the planet! cute little turtles with adventure and culture and environment and ecology and wildlife, who can resist! plus Odo's face is so incredible! hoping to finish finish and be submitting the doco by march 1. really need to get it off my plate and get it out there and hope it sells!
CHRISTMAS IN AFRICA
so i moved here in October 2011 so i spent that christmas here in NBO...then new years in Betty's Bay cape town if you remember. and COTW (citizen of the world) was coined. then last year i spent christmas in tucson..via singapore, auckland, LA, then saw my sister in las cruces, NM, then new years in Malibu and flew home via dubai. this year, it's NBO again, but this time i have friends to invite over for parties and plus Odo will be keeping me busy. but the other day on another beach walk i realized that the USA has very little to do with me and i have very little to do with the USA anymore (except for the dow jones which i hope doesn't tank next year as everyone is predicting!). i guess i've become an ex-pat and living back in the states has no appeal at the minute. africa suits me just fine and another country or continent might also work...like florence, italy. but the same ole same ole in the US of A isn't grabbing me. i'm settled here for now, have a great network of new family and friends, and feel very grateful and blessed for my new life. sitting in DTLA staring at the loft across the street is in the rearview...and almost a lifetime ago. i'm happy to be here, to be having such an amazing adventure, and to working and sharing what i know, and as my brother so aptly put it, to make art and teach art. even christmas in NBO seems fine with me, albeit everyone leaves town. i have my cat, a stable full of horses a few feet away, and a close circle of friends. and Trade Secret the race horse i own an eighth of is starting to run! so things are picking up!
2014
no idea what next year will bring, but every month a new surprise seems to arise. this year included trips to zurich, cambodia, bangkok, addis, and numerous trips to lamu. we ran the Hollywood Acting Master Class and did the Slingshot Seminar Series...plus we started a talent agency! never would have guessed that one! we shot more free videos for more worthy causes and maybe another bloke will fall down the stairs and something else will pop up next year. i went to the Ethiopian Int'l Film Festival while i was in Addis, and i have a feeling i'll be back next year to see all my new friends win awards for their films! it's like the Oscars of ethiopia and pretty glitzy. a good time for sure.
i'm grateful for my co-worker/prodcuer lorella who continues to grow and is ready for big things! and for The Stable (HQ), the ideal live/work space. life is good, this indian sea breeze at the Driftwood feels divine... and my cold Tusker is running dry. time to try the steak!
UPDATES
skin doc session went well...used a whole canister of liquid nitrogen to clean me up, and i go back in 3 weeks for another blast. but a good find and feels good to be on top of it.
looks like lorella is producing a pro bono gig early january in the western Kisumu of kenya for a women's empowering group called TAK. and we have a shoot in Juba, south sudan, in march if things cool down by then.
Steak at the Driftwood not bad! plus they're giving me a special medical rate to stay here!
time for pics!
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| Lars from Base Camp Foundation stands on the 54' dhow in lamu he's restoring for Hemingway's off Watamu beach. |
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| Gumbo at Peponi, a study in fixation. "throw the bottle cap...throw the bottle cap..." |
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| lamu friend sabrina and her brother Gunnar on my last day. |
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| this place has been so chill! |
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| very lucky to have found it. the view always amazing. |
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| everyone cruises in shela barefoot, hence there are foot baths everywhere. mine has flowers. |
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| my main man Dickson, always service with a smile! |
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| lamu airport at manda airstrip. my flight to malindi. |
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| all aboard. |
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| the Driftwood Inn in Malindi. |
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| my last flight of 2013 back to nairobi wilson airport. so ready to get home after a 3 week roadie! |
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| locals call my crib "the lemon squeezer". and so it is. was a great pLace. |
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| my Ethiopian film director, Dre. |
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| hate posting blurry pictures but love this one of our prop master. |
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| fairly complete film crew...and strong locations they bartered for... |
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| see below! |
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| or "lock it up, picture's up, no walking no talking, we're rolling, QUIET!" |
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| camera dept checks out the replay. |
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| lorella flew up with our cine lens package for their 5D. on location, here at kaldis coffee...the spot! |
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| "i'll have another macchiato please!" |
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| dre on the on-board monitor. |
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| ddm, nicoloas the french grip, and writer/actor/producer Groom. |
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| eyes on a matatu/mini bus in addis. |
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| the Sheraton in Addis...always a must visit! |
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| Lilu and groom. |
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| Lilu ready for her closeup! |
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| hotel row in addis...the view from my room at the Monarch. |
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| german ex-pat Tobias was hilarious. been in ethiopia 5 years. |
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| Lilu and Sam from Sole Rebels. |
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| two beauties doing background for the nightclub scene. |
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| Nic and groom. |
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| the HoJo's of africa. Monarch in addis. worth the price! |
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| mostly first time actors... |
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| woman by a window. cool office building. |
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| Beminent...a billboard model and a good little actress! |
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| chicken caesar salad at cafe limmu daily during lunch! |
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| a street in addis. the place is booming. |
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| EIFF (Ethiopian Int'l Film Fest) at the Ethiopian Nat'l theatre....50 year old space. glitzy affair. |
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| wisconsonian ex-pat aaron white. in africa 9 years, married to Zeid. |
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| Zeid waits for her freshly roasted coffee. so good! |
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| the pool at the African Vacation Village Resort on lake Lagano south of addis. |
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| Dre looking very much like Spy vs Spy from Mad Magazine days. |
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| i teach the boys how to take production stills...always point, looks impressive. (thx nick rivera) |
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| our DP Dawit (David) catches on. |
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| perfection. now they look impressive. |
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| shade on lake lagano. |
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| Zeid and actor celeb Miky (mickey) my sidekick. he's more famous than brad pitt in ethiopia. |
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| sound men always have the best gear...for everything. here Feduka fights off the sun. |
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| ddm & dr. dre |
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| okay, i confess, i hit the spa for a quick back massage. sweet. |
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| never ask a camel herder has many camels he has, it's like asking what his portfolio is worth! |
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| aaron driving us back to addis from lake lagano. always so nice to be driven! |
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| on location for Miky's film up Mt Entoto to shoot a quick scene. |
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| camels are awesome...so tall and long and mellow and other-worldly. |
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| power lunch with Groom on my last day at the Radisson Hotel patio...going over my 'deferred' deal memo...felt like beverly hills! and Groom's a mover & a shaker! |
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| me and Miky...gotta admit it was fun to be acting again. |
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| last day with some love for ddm on set! |
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| Sishu burger is the In 'n Out Burger of addis ababa. ah-mazing! |
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| so reminded me of home! good food! |
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| minimal signage, maximum burger! |
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| And ice cream next door afterwards...get the brownie and fudge topping! |
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| the ice cream joint is in a converted container...very creative! and so yummy! SO THERE YOU HAVE IT. AFRICA=GOOD IDEA! VERY GLAD I MADE THE EXODUS! AND THE HOLIDAYS HERE WILL BE MELLOW AND OVER BEFORE I KNOW IT! 2013 WAS GOOD AND ALL, BUT I CAN'T WAIT TIL 2014! WE'LL SEE WHAT WILL POP UP OUR WAY. BUT I'M HAPPY, EXPECTANT, AND VERY GALD TO BE HERE. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! THANKS FOR FOLLOWING MY NEW LIFE EXPLOITS! ALWAYS MORE REWARDING TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK! MAKES IT ALL THE MORE WORTH IT TO KEEP POSTING! BE SAFE! ONLY LOVE! AFRICAN MANLY SHOULDER BUMP... AND REMEMBER... "THE BEST WAY TO SPREAD TO CHRISTMAS CHEER IS TO SING CAROLS LOUD FOR ALL TO HEAR." -BUDDY THE ELF XXOO COTW |
