NEW PURPOSE - SEPT 2013

NEW PURPOSE - SEPT 2013

well, this year certainly hasn't gone according to plan. but as my friend in dallas, dminer, reminds me, "maybe God has a better plan?". and so it goes. the leap of faith every month this year has been "God has a better plan", because whatever my plan has been for this year or the last few months has certainly not been my plan. (Didn't i write a book called "God is Not a Smart Planner".com ???) why is this new ground for me?? i guess when the divine plan clashes with the stiff-necked human plan, there is bound to be new conflict, doubts, wonderment, panic! but the overriding kung fu is that i am following my brother's credo "make art or teach art". and august was a busy month of finishing a 9-week Hollywood Acting Master Class and then launching STA...SLingshot Talent Agency.
https://www.facebook.com/slingtalent

we have roughly 12 clients all from the Master Class and it's a big leap into the unknown. lorella my trusty sidekick and producer for sling prods had to jump in as Managing Agent and negotiate a monthly contract for a Nairobi TV show on Day 1. 

after i finished the master class i made 12 headshots and cut 12 acting reels for our clients. and hired a webmaster to put the STA site up and running and well organized. a pretty hectic month all in all and was glad to escape back to lamu sept 1 for some much needed R&R. 

Sling Prods is itching to get back into production and may have something in south sudan as well as a big US govt gig for MCC in developing countries. we're in the mix at least. hopefully that will pop.

HAMC (hollywood acting master class) is offering a new 8 week course for students 12-18 in NBO and maybe up in Nakuru on saturdays and sundays. Open House next saturday to gauge interest level. but the word is slowly getting out that we are offering something unique in the NBO market and are the real deal in teaching TV & Film techniques. and i have to admit i have a lot of fun teaching, directing, and shooting! each class is a 2 camera shoot. with sound. and lots of distractions to teach folks how to "commit & concentrate". and my students have really grown. that's we started STA, cuz we have folks who are trained now and can compete. fingers crossed they all get nice contracts!

can't believe sept 30, 2 years ago, i left LAX with a one way ticket to africa and everything i owned. have only been back home once i that time and have plans to return again for christmas and new years. last year was definitely more "adventure", and this year it's turned into the "kenya experiment"...meaning i guess the outcome is unknown! not sure if i'm going to fly or sink yet, but i'm here and i'm swinging for the fences. now that we have SLing Talent and are repping actors and singers and performers and presenters, i kid that i'm building an empire! emerging as a starmaker, and idolmaker. who knows?? i love the arts and artists and it's been a blast training up our clients. it keeps me invested over here now that i'm investing in people. and they are cool people. you would love them all. i'm proud of who they are and how far they've come and am eager to see their progress. meanwhile, we still do "work out" days at HQ and work scenes. 

on a sidebar, i started yoga again in Lamu this trip. pretty laughable getting my granite slab body on a mat, but it's been good. i sure need it. and need to continue in karen area in NBO.

might be doing a movie in ethiopia in nov/dec. waiting for actualities to take place like a script in english and a plane ticket, but i think something will happen. should be fun.

well, that's all for now. short and sweet. let's get to the pics and some captions.

p.s. oh yeah, to dig my roots deeper into NBO, i bought a share of a share in a racehorse... Trade Secret. he's barely 2 years old, but should be fun to follow. 

maryolive has a bright future and is really talented.

tracy is an old-timer with me since last year. her work is getting very good and she's on
a contract now!

our logo. (font: lunar bar)

Sharlyn is a three-time NBO Actor Monologue Champ and just got a show! she's a fellow
"set junky" like me. loves being on set!

Wilfred was a Karen street kid and comedian but becoming a serious actor.

Shirlyne is a triple threat...singer, dancer, actor. lots to develop!

brian is becoming a local star. he started with me last year and has blown up!

Trade Secret. run baby run!

matt chancey is the other share of a share holder.

self portrait last month. i've trimmed up since then.

lorella has jumped in wearing lots of hats now! lunch at Purdy Arms.

Paka Paka is the biggest cat in kenya now i'm pretty sure. he was having dreams of flying.

some STA clients at HQ doing scene work on camera. great bunch!

off to lamu. nothing says vacation like an open cockpit!

another dhow, from the airport back to shela.

peponi hotel terrace at dusk. a great watering hole.

lamu town. always photogenic!

errol's house at dusk. part Morocco, part NYC loft! very cool space!

Peponi terrace the other direction, towards Manda channel.

some lamu bling...masai bangles.

this boat capt snagged a ride in stuart's plane, who took me up to shoot some aerial footage
of the new lamu port. he was stoked...first time off the ground!

my brother Lee at the Lamu Beach Club. cool cat. from harlem!

my yoga studio at Banana House. 9am. 

om.

"warrior 3"? (some yoga humor)

a wall made of bottle.

from lamu town to shela.

charlie's house. a wonder.

where's Acrhitectural Digest? Dwell?? Conde N'est???

unusual high view of shela village.

poised for photo shoots!

more shela village!

clean.

shela pathway.

Peponi boat to lamu today.

my friend Nyambura on our way to Mass.

path to shela with donkeys carrying sand.

mass in lamu town.

love the singing. never gets old.

view from my blog post at lamu house restuarant right now!

THE DUAL LIFE - JULY 28, 2013

THE DUAL LIFE

Welcome blog readers to another update from your COTW in east africa. in the midst of a VERY slow work year (after a busy one last year), i was ready to throw in the towel on Nairobi (BTW, its nickname "Nai-robbery" is striking closer to home with thugs with guns robbing people walking to work in my hood!). but after spending nearly 3 weeks in lamu in quiet, sleepy, shela village i came to realize that even paradise can get boring. i was this close to giving my landlord in NBO notice that i would moving to shela full time sept 1, but my gut started to rumble that that was the wrong thing to do. 

if i had a business to run in paradise and was building something here, it'd be different. but being here as a part-time screenwriter with nothing really pressing every day, the notion of becoming a part-time rummy drinking on the terrace at Peponi hotel every day as well was all too imminent. plus, silly as it sounds, i really missed my "things" at "The Stable" and still really loved that place. so leaving shela the last trip, i concluded that living here full time wasn't the answer and that somehow i wasn't done with NBO, or NBO wasn't done with me. 

my 9-week Hollywood Acting Master Class has really been a ball and after returning to NBO this last time, more 'teaching art' opportunities have presented themselves. as well as a possible high-end coffee chain that may hire Slingshot Prods to shoot some arty food clips and lifestyle stuff for their social media consumption. in short, some favor was rolling my way and possible work was making life a lot more fun. 

the other factor was that my crib in shela would remain only for 10 months a year, so if i moved my edit bay down here, i'd have to pack it up and be a gypsy somewhere else every august and december. not exactly a "home base" situation. so, The Stable won out and i've been very happy so far with the decision. no more bubble sitting, i'm in NBO thru 2013 and lamu will remain a nice to place to visit but i wouldn't want to ...you get the rest.

the other thing on one of the Slingshot Nation burners is the Slingshot Talent Agency. after training my students in TV & Film acting and set protocol & how to audition, i have enough actors now that i think can compete in the industry here. Kenya requires all TV programming to be 60% original content made in Kenya, so the need for trained talent could be sizable. at any rate, we had our first meeting with our potential clients with Lorella and Virginia, an old media pro here in NBO who will serve as Managing Agent and handle all the day to day deals. by the next blog the slingtalent.com website should be live. another fun adventure and one i never imagined getting into when i left L.A. 

well, it's July 28 (my dad would have been 94 today), and getting late this sunday nite. the longer i'm here the smaller Cali gets in the rear-view. it's been a tenuous year to date, but i think things are turning around and picking up. you have to be here a while for folks to know who are and trust you. my impatience was cause for some pro-longed self-pity parties, but i believe i'm coming out of it! Lord willing the rest of the year could be quite busy and fun! we've already hit rock-bottom morale wise at sling prods and now we're aggressively preparing for rain to come and extending our tent poles. as they say on Broadway, "Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk!"

time for some pics!

intrepid watch-kitty Paka Paka guards the Stable.

the real stable is 50 feet from my house. these magnificent equines clop down the cobblestone
for their daily walks.

Capt. my captain Yusef heading us back to shela.

you can walk to lamu town from shela or ride a donkey...as one does. 

anniversary bubbly on the upper terrace waiting for the Chanceys to arrive from NBO.

waterfront sunset in shela village.

my friend Nymabura in her newly expanded shop African Corner.

matt chancey arrives, old chap.

matt & jennie arrive via private plane. as one would.

main street in lamu town. could use some paint.

driving back from the new lamu port we had a flash flood of cattle.

shela village from the sea.

Catski lives in lamu town with my authoress friend errol T. feline still life.

you never know if the locals are cool with their picture being taken, so i was relieved
when this capt gave me the thumbs up.

if you live in a place long enough, you can get some special photos. heading back to shela
at dusk, her scarf finally got my attention blowing in the wind and i put the iphone 5 in stealth mode.

the dining terrace at Peponi Hotel. across the channel is manda island.

on a clear day...from my upper terrace.

local in lamu town.

old school open-air swahili architecture in lamu town. 

morning light in my bedroom in shela. i think charlize went to get coffee.

capt aswif, a mover and shaker in shela.

some camera gear on the way to the airport.

dhow on the right.

was bumped to a different flight and a much better plane. 

4 seats across instead of the usual 2. comfort. and quieter.

oh yeah, and i started a tee shirt line. if you print it will they come?

thank you Dminer in dallas for help with the graphics.

your summer is our winter and NBO can get COLD. Africa isn't hot everywhere.

Soap Opera day in the master class. brian and tracy killed it!

"william and damaris, hold your glasses a little higher into frame, please."

the new Hemingway's hotel is finally open in Karen.

lunch with delia stirling of Brown's cheese chatting with 5 star Michelin chef barry.

testing out the slider bar at a food shoot at Brown's Cheese farm.

hero cheese platter.

A sneak peek at their new ice cream line launching sept or oct. canon 5D with the 100mm Zeiss prime.

my landlords in NBO are building an african party hut. an easy stumble home.

wilson airport boarding for lamu and malindi.

at least this thing gets above the clouds.

open cockpit? a rarity in this day and age.

reverse angle of lamu town villa. 

guest room at friend's Sabrina's White House guest house.

breakfast this morning in shela.

sunday morning mass where the kiswahili singing sounds angelic.

cool signage in lamu town.

on the patio at the lamu house hotel. friday night was packed for the Prixe fixe dinner.

apres mass latte.

the view out to sea.

donkeys at work. lamu house hotel in the BG.

frank of lamu house loads food for the sunday brunch he throws on manda beach at the
lamu house beach club. it can get crazy. in the good way.

shela local (and harlem transplant) Lee is always styled out, here at the sunday brunch.

dhow sail on today's sundowner cruise.

the light on this oiled hardwood was amazing.

sundowners heading home.

our dhow had a flag flying from the California Republic. took me back. 

shela village awaits. it was a long day.

our new flier for the master class. it's gaining traction.

chilling with lee and new friends sailing home.

ALL FOR NOW! THANKS FOR READING!