remnants of me

December has rolled in like a lion, just over three days of continuous snowfall with an accumulation of over 41 inches of snow. I feel like I'm reliving the film, Ground Hog's Day. It wouldn't be so bad if the city plows didn't move the detritus of people's once parked cars at the end of my freshly shoveled driveway. The snow pack is wet and thick, heavy from friction, like concrete. My body aches in specific areas from shoveling and negotiating the uncleared walkways of the neighborhood with my dog pulling at me to move faster. I slip and slide with every footfall and cannot seem to find any rhythm to my gait in this incredibly annoying inconvenience. I used to love the snow. The cold air that feels like it's burning my lungs. Snowflakes melting on my face, those that bless my eyelids with their touch and the ones I unintentionally inhale while walking. It's a serene landscape in an otherwise irksome college neighborhood, with freshman and other class men/women imposing themselves on my tired disturbed mind. Their obnoxious self-involved actions direct my mind to spaces unreached, places I don't want to dwell, angry and violent thoughts exist there, straight-jacketed so as not to harm anyone. As a youth, my walls used to bare the brunt of that part of me, now controlled, but seething just beneath the surface on the verge of erupting into a frenzied attack against my sanity. Syracuse has found a way to resurrect those remnants of me, which I thought I had laid to rest a long time ago.

Last November Blog -- the Future.

Well, November is nearly over and I look forward to what December will bring. I am obviously hoping for good things, but I'll take everything in stride. I have applied (my third time in almost as many years) for one position with my alma mater (University of Colorado, Boulder), which is my dream job. I just had the greatest experience with the faculty and the majority of people I met there, I cannot recall a downside to my time spent there. I'm hoping it's not a long shot for me to teach there, I realize my artist exhibition record doesn't include prestigious film festivals. Nor does it include a teaching record that involves production, but I was the GA that manned the film cage for my 3 years at Syracuse University, therefore I am intimately familiar with all the production equipment both analog and digital. I know I would make a great assistant professor/cinema artist because I possess the passion and determination to be one at this particular institution. I also believe that I owe this specific community because of how well I was treated and giving back in kind through my knowledge, experience and connections is what I bring to the table. There is nothing left for me in Syracuse. My job is great, though it hasn't been made into a full-time (with benefits) position, that was one point I would take into consideration in staying. It's a great job where I work with wonderful people, no bad experiences whatsoever. I think I have already distanced myself from Syracuse, not because it's necessarily a bad area, more so for the lack of opportunities that exist for me here. I will miss my family and friends and colleagues, but those relationships aren't what ties a person to any particular place. Happiness has eluded me here, friends that regard themselves as friends have little if anything to do with me, and others are under some odd pretense that they are my "friends." My return to the Southwest has lit a fire in me, awakening ideas, and excitement that have long since left me abandoned and alone in Syracuse. I am heading back to the southwest, where is the only question that remains unanswered, Santa Fe would be an ideal place for my uneasy spirit right now as would Boulder. My friends there are actually my friends and not some concept of friendship that exists without contact. My sister and niece, the two most important aspects of my life that aren't physically with me live there, the one most important aspect is man's best friend, my boy Milo. UC-Boulder, I hope you don't do yourself a disservice and ignore my third attempt at coming home to teach simply because my exhibition record is somewhat anemic from "prestigious" film festivals. Consider the big picture.

Round Up @ the Museum of Contemporary Native Art & Santa Fe

So, Saturday came and went, quickly. My artist talk went well, though nervous and worried, it went well. Two new pieces were added to the exhibition, which were initially lost to the hard drive crash, but they were resurrected from memory, maybe not 100% of what they once were, but none-the-less they were resurrected! Seven of my friends from the Boulder community attended, they all now live in the Albuquerque/Santa Fe area, except one who had flown in for another event, but Nicole made it in time to catch the tail end of the talk and view my work in the gallery. My young friend (cousin) Sylv works in Santa Fe and I had him as my guest at the hotel since he's been couch surfin' in Albuquerque, somewhat without a home, so we hung out and caught up, which was nice to have company. The food was great, you can never beat authentic southwest cuisine and New Mexican green chili, which I am already missing the morning I left it began.

The exhibition looks great and is running with four other exhibitions that are wonderful. The museum is beautiful, right there on Cathedral Place.

Next up another talk about a PBS series from the 70's at ArtRage this Friday evening.

Round Up - Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, NM

Tonto Revisited @ ArtRage Gallery, Syracuse, NY

Come check out the Tonto Revisited exhibit, which will coincide with a few events that I am involved with. My own exhibit Round Up (curators: Jenny Western & Ryan Rice), all single channel videos, will be screening one night only, November 21st, 4pm-6pm with an artist talk. For more event information check the ArtRage Gallery Events Schedule.

2010 Finger Lakes Film Festival

This is my second year, 2008 was my first, as an accepted entry into the Finger Lakes Film Festival. In 2008, I was unable to attend, although I had planned on it, due to work related and personal (vehicle) issues. This year, I will be in attendance on the second evening of screenings and for the reception on November 6th at the Cracker Factory. I look forward to being in attendance and meeting the individuals involved with the festival as well as the people there to enjoy the festival. I also look forward to the submissions that will be screened.

Finger Lakes Film Festival website

Departing Syracuse

This past weekend I came to the conclusion that I will no longer live in Syracuse after July 31st, 2011. That's the end of my current lease. Here's my reasoning. My Alma Mater, the University of Colorado, Boulder is again advertising a job position for cinema artist. I have applied twice for this position since 2007. I have been told that my screening or exhibition record doesn't meet their criteria, which I can understand. I don't have a great amount of festival experience within the larger, more prestigious festivals. Although, over the past two years my work has begun to grab attention of the gallery/exhibition realm and I've been concentrating on that.

Now, I love Boulder and the University even though I live in NY, I remain a part of the Native community in the Boulder/Denver area. If I think about where I've lived in the past, I have never been happier than to have lived in Boulder. I have a large circle of friends in Boulder and I couldn't ask for greater friends than them. Syracuse has been good to me, but not in the manner that Boulder or Colorado have been. My circle of friends have diminished greatly in NY and the remainder of my friends are spread out over a few cities/towns.

I figure that applying once again for this position at CU cannot hurt me. My ideal job is to teach at the university level and my ideal place to live is in Boulder and I am connected to Boulder by roots that have never died since I left.

NY will always be my home locale, but since my family here is busy living their lives I have to look for a place where I will be happy and successful and able to have a healthy, normal social life, that doesn't depend on when my brothers or friends have time for me, because that time has become almost non-existent. I love my brothers and friends here, but I need to take a chance regardless of having a job and move back to Boulder where my happiness existed not only with my friends but with the overall environment.

My past dreams were to attend CU-Boulder and work for the Native American Rights Fund, those dreams came true, or rather I made them happen. I also dreamed of attending the MFA Film program on a full ride at Syracuse University and that also happened. A person can only follow their heart, regardless of what their mind might say to them and I will continue following my heart and dreams. Since moving back to NY I have become quite comfortable and that's often dangerous since I no longer take that many chances in my life, which has made me very passive and I need to be active again . . . I no longer feel alive. I feel like I'm just existing and just existing isn't acceptable.

I will definitely miss everyone I currently work with and for, my current job is great. It's equivalent to the Native American Rights Fund as far as the individuals that I work with, great people. Unfortunately, my job is considered contracted and not a full position within the University or within my organization. My freelance employers are wonderful too, and they will be greatly missed, but I can foresee completing my work for them within the next few months.

So, Colorado, here I come . . . rather I will be, next year!

Taxation without Representation - the Haudenosaunee vs. New York State

Sovereignty. Well, it's hard to believe that the word holds any water anymore within the city-state confluence of border towns that are reservations within America. Harder to believe still, when state governments insist on imposing taxation on sovereign Nations from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. One of the issues in which America came to be was taxation without representation, and ironic again, various Haudenosaunee Nations sided with the colonials in their fight against the crown as taxation without representation was one of the issues for their dissenting view toward the crown. All the history and signed (Treaty of 1748, 1789, the Trade and Intercourse Act of 1790, and the Canandaigua Treaty of 1794, also know as the Pickering Treaty and the George Washington Covenant) treaties also seem to be incapable of holding any water in New York State. It's either that or the memories of the NYS citizenry and governing bodies are the most myopic memories in history.

In late August, the Tadodaho of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Chief Sidney Hill, sent out a letter to the President of the U.S.A. concerning the issue of taxation and the utilization of force past and possibly in the present to enforce New York state's misplaced concepts of sovereignty in imposing their laws upon the Haudenosaunee. It's a sad time when NYC Mayor Bloomberg urges NYS Governor Patterson to take a "shoot-em up stance" toward untaxed Native cigarette sales. Racism and ignorance seem to be par for the course in American politics, not just today, but everyday.

Will Native sovereignty hold? Will it be respected? Will State governments recognize the countless treaties that are considered law of the land between the Native Nations and the U.S. federal government? It's a pretty dreary day when you see state agencies imposing a rule of law upon a sovereign nation considering the historical facts behind how "America" came to be . . . but like I mentioned, government and the American citizenry seem to be myopic when it comes to history and Others.

The Mechanics of Being NDN: U.S. premeire of Round-UP to open Santa Fe, NM August 2nd 2010.

An academic's blog review of Round-UP Santa Fe

A Mosque near Ground Zero

Recently my facebook profile was abuzz with a debate surrounding the proposed building of a Mosque near Ground Zero in NYC. The argument is obviously a passionately emotion-filled one for a majority of those that have lost loved ones in 9/11. In stating that, the majority of arguments are not fundamentally rational because of the emotions attached to this particular issue. And, it is always difficult to debate an issue when someone is emotionally attached. I'm not saying that people shouldn't feel for their lost loved ones, but they shouldn't argue with those emotions, because it distances their logic and reason from the point. I had made a point to inquire how many Muslims died in the destruction of the World Trade Centers as part of my argument, because many people are placing blame on the religion of Islam as the culprit behind the attacks on America and the World Trade Centers on 9/11, which couldn't be further from the truth.

A friend of mine debated with me and others on facebook against building a Mosque near Ground Zero, which is fine, open and free debate is one of America's greatest freedoms, as is the freedom of religion. This particular freedom and the issue of tolerance was center to my argument. It seems that America is still quite the xenophobic country, and one that is extremely Islamaphobic as well. Like all religions, extremism is part and parcel to their existence, and politics too--fanaticism is a reality that we have to endure while not vilifying entire religions. Eventually, my friend deleted his comments stating it was my post (although he did decide to take part in the debate) and he didn't want others thinking he was a White supremacist, which he isn't. He just isn't well versed in the facts of history as he attempted to make associations to past historical events for his argument, which were completely irrelevant to the argument. His points were way off topic, which I assume is because he is emotional tied to the events of 9/11. He tried to argue fear and security as points for not building a Mosque, hardly relevant to the construction of a Mosque near Ground Zero. He also claimed that blind tolerance of other religions is what allowed 9/11 to happen, which is completely off point, and untrue. It was simply the act of men that were financed by fanatics, who planned for and carried out their plan in the name of a religion. It wasn't the religion that flew two planes into the World Trade Centers, it was a group of men. Waters become muddied with emotionally charged arguments because reason is not present in emotion. No one vilifies Christianity when individuals bomb abortion clinics or murder doctors that preform abortions in the name of Christ, granted the scale pales in comparison to 9/11, but the relevance exists.

President Barack Obama recently stated the right of religious freedom in America in the right to build a center of worship wherever chosen, then he distanced himself from the ongoing debate probably because it is a contentious and emotionally charged one. The con-argument over the construction of a Mosque has been centered around the remembrance of those that lost their lives on 9/11 and that a Mosque would be an insult to that memory. Yet my question still remains, how many Muslims lost their lives on 9/11 in those two Towers? And, how is targeting a religion going to limit the memory of the people that died at Ground Zero? Arguing against the Mosque as bad taste is not an argument it's a misdirected emotion limiting reason, which does about as much justice to the memory of those that died as not remembering them at all.

Whether or not a Mosque and Islamic center is built near Ground Zero is going to become an even more heated issue in America and especially around New York City. Tolerance for others and other religions, and the realization that Islam was and is not the cause of terrorist acts, but man is is a realization that people must comprehend and accept. If not, our Constitution may be open to attack and our 1st Amendment right may be altered making the US a fanatic nation in the name of Christianity.

In all honesty, my opinion for, or against the building of a Mosque near Ground Zero isn't part of the debate because, I am not part of that community. (Although, I don't believe building a Mosque and Islamic center near Ground Zero diminishes the memory of the people that perished in the World Trade Centers.) I am a part of the larger community and I know what is right, because I am far enough away from the pain the individual families feel for their lost loved ones, that I have not muddied the issue with my emotions. I honestly feel for these families because they seem to not have dealt with their loss. I also feel for Muslims that had nothing to do with the attacks on American soil on 9/11, that just want a better life in a nation of immigrants, in a nation that believes its self to be the greatest nation on Earth. Although, the recent arguments over this proposed Mosque near Ground Zero hampers this assumed greatness, and I feel more for the fact that these souls are misguided in their efforts to "remember" their loved ones by diminishing Others as responsible for something they, nor their religion caused.

For history and another opinion: Keith Olbermann

I have to state that a friend of mine called me up to speak to me directly, not to necessarily debate the issue, but to offer his opinion and perspective, which I greatly respect and appreciate. I was completely flattered that he would take the time to do so, thank you Woody! He and I may not agree on the larger issues surrounding this debate, but as friends, we can engage in open dialogue with mutual respect and admiration.

Where Syracuse, NY could make more revenue

As you may know I live in a college town, or city if you want to get technical. Now for the most part a college city isn't as bad as living in a college town because of the scale of the area, but that really isn't applicable here. Unfortunately in my case, I've decided to live within what is known as the "university" area, the outlying neighborhoods that surround the University, and in this particular instance it's Syracuse University. It has been my experience that one must endure the occasional college student encounter from time to time whilst living within the realm of a "university" area. I wouldn't be blogging about this if the infiltration of undergraduates within my neighborhood wasn't a blight on my neighborhood or the city itself. Since undergraduate students have been making their way further and further toward the borders of the "university" area they have increasingly been pushing more and more families out. This is a reality that I've witnessed firsthand on my block. Six years ago when I moved into my apartment, undergrads were living closer to the university and for the most part only graduate students, doctoral students, professionals and families existed within a roughly two block radius where I live.

Over the six years that I've lived where I live I have seen neighbors sell their homes and leave as if an infestation of the worst kind had occurred. And, indeed it did, undergraduate students without common sense or consideration. I admit that our youth more often than not lack common sense and possess little if any consideration outside of their perceived social niche or their own ego. But, what this mass movement has done is allowed the university neighborhoods to be overrun by youth that possess no true conscience toward anyone but their selves and their desire to drink, be loud and boisterous, invade the space that others occupy, destroy property and create a requirement for inexpensive housing, which brings me to landlords or property owners.

Property owners that rent en masse to the undergraduate student have little if any incentive to maintain their property, especially when the undergraduate students are the ones damaging the properties. I know of a phenomenon that occurs when people own property and that is if someone fixes up their property, it usually follows that their immediate neighbor in turn fixes up their property and so goes the chain (this particular phenomenon's name escapes me at the moment), unfortunately the reverse is true here.

Syracuse is a city that has suffered the physical and economical pains of industry failing. Syracuse is also a city that could, if it were wise enough, make enough money by enforcing their own codes in the neighborhoods where these undergraduates live and where the parasitic property owners prey. The winter is one of the best examples of where money could be raised by enforcing the shoveling code. In Syracuse, regardless of a renters knowledge, it is the responsibility of the renter to maintain clear and safe sidewalks through snow removal, unless otherwise specified in a lease. As a central New Yorker from birth, I grew up in neighborhoods where people shoveled first thing in the morning during and after snowfall, regardless of the amount. Now, moving throughout central NY it has been my experience as someone who walked and walks a lot that people who rent or the property management companies and/or landlords don't very often, if ever, keep their sidewalks clear. In an era of politics that is crying out for no more taxes, this particular circumstance should be exploited to its fullest in order for the city to collect revenue.

It has also been a long standing argument of upstaters that our taxes are high and we barely see where the money goes in our communities because the state is too busy spending it downstate in NYC. This may or may not be true, I think it is relatively true since our upstate communities seem to be suffering much more then our neighbors to the southeast. Upstate, central and western NY do receive their fair share of tourist dollars, but that pales in comparison to what NYC reaps annually in tourist revenue. Our communities are scattered, threatened by more industry bailing out and a standard of living that makes trailer parks winch. Poverty is rampant and the number of buildings left abandoned is staggering. I believe cities in upstate, central and western NY should more stringently enforce their codes in and around university/college areas to provide for more city revenue.

U.S. premeire of Round-UP to open Santa Fe, NM August 2nd 2010.

Well, I can say it's been an adventure, after attempting to export media files for DVD authoring of my latest new works my external HD decided it didn't want to stop spinning somewhere in the middle of exporting and thus has not been accessible. So, four new pieces sit somewhere in a spinning HD unable to be located for writing. Although, after taking some time off of work I was able to reconstruct two of the four pieces for my upcoming exhibit in Santa Fe: Round-UP (originally established by the Urban Shaman Gallery in Winnipeg in October of 2009). I always like to get new pieces out there and thought this new showing of Round-UP would be a great opportunity were it not for the rejection of technology.

I hope to get the other two and another possible piece reconstructed by end of August and sent back to the Museum of Contemporary Native Art first thing in September so they have what I intended to be shown. The two pieces I was unable to reconstruct in time are Kemosabe version 2.0 (with additional title) and an as of yet untitled F-Troop piece and another piece I was working on that's a bit of a departure for me entitled, Cayuga. So, I have a month to re-access my brain and reconstruct what/how I remember the pieces to be. My job has afforded me a G5 tower and 20 inch monitor to bring home, now I can wake up or come home and power it up and create without having to head into the office at all hours after working 8 hours just to use a more powerful machine than my PowerBook G4 from 2005--I love this little laptop (it's served me well traveling with me through the country and internationally), but it's time for a new Intel powered device, sometime when I have the money.

It's been a difficult month struggling after attempting to author my DVD for the exhibit. I was right there. I sat on the pieces for a month and came back to them to tweak them where I thought necessary, and then moved on to export them for the DVD and then the doomsday scenario hit. Now I can get some rest, recoup and come at the work from a more focused, less stressed mind.

Access Denied--The Iroquois Nationals

The saga is over for the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team this 2010 tourney, while maintaining sovereignty and their identity as individuals from sovereign nations as Indigenous people living within a colonized state (read as country) on their own territory or within the greater U.S., they bowed out of the games with dignity, grace and power.

After having received verification that the team would be granted reentry back into the U.S. by Secretary of State, Hilary Rodham Clinton, the English government denied them entry into the UK in the end, going back on their word. It started with the English government's seeming concern that Our team wouldn't be allowed to gain reentry back into the U.S. while traveling on their own passports, the Haudenosaunee passport, which was apparently being denied by the U.S. government due to "security measures" and possibly a new stance against tribal sovereignty--as well as the team not being in possession of a reentry visa that is a U.S. document--which conflicts with the entire concept of sovereignty as well as their own passport. This has never stopped individuals from traversing borders utilizing the Haudenosaunee passport before, although that is not to say no one has had difficulty in the past.

What was clearly evident during this entire debacle was a lack of support from other federation member teams and an absence of any official stance from the FIL (Federation of International Lacrosse, the games global governing body). Maybe it was befitting that the U.S. lost to Canada and England lost to Australia on day 3, both countries responsible for the delay and ultimate forfeiture of the Iroquois Nationals.

Although this is only a sport, what was and is at stake goes much deeper than a lacrosse stick, cleats, pads and a helmet. Sovereignty and identity are at the root of this international incident that the U.S. and British deemed an issue of importance and a battle to be fought in keeping the Iroquois Nationals from participating in these global games. An issue that the U.S. claims is one of security, on a national level that is definitely debatable given past events that have allowed two individuals to have gotten close enough to the President of the U.S. at a State dinner to have posed more of a threat than the reentry of a sporting team back into the borders of the U.S. on their own passport (contemporary security measures in place on said passport or not).

This is the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse team, which was recognized by the FIL and invited to participate as a team back in 1990, if I remember my lacrosse history. This is why I think the silence of FIL may have jeopardized Our team from attending in the long run. They could have threatened to revoke England's membership or the U.S.'s for that matter simply as a sign of solidarity with the struggle the Iroquois had to endure to eventually not attend. Not only that, but team members of the U.S. could have spoken out themselves, many have been teammates of individual Iroquois members at the collegiate level and within the U.S. professional arena of lacrosse (MLL and NLL). It seems we have entered an era where there is no apparent political or moral conscience by the individual athlete.


A great article out of Alaska:

http://www.adn.com/2010/07/15/1368823_iroquois-nationals-stopped-by.html

Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse

This is bigger than just lacrosse. If anyone out there has been following the news recently this is the year that the World Lacrosse Championships are being held in England, which only happens every four years. Well, the Iroquois Nationals are ranked fourth in the world and are being refused entry or reentry, however you want to look at it because they are traveling on their own passports, which they have been doing for some time now. I know faithkeeper Oren Lyons travels internationally with his Haudenosaunee passport, and the countries he visits honors that document. The last time I knew he traveled on that passport was back in 2006/07 (if memory serves) when I was responsible for recording, editing, and the DVD authoring of a yearlong educational lecture series entitled, The Onondaga Land Rights and Our Common Future, part I. Oren said so in his own words that he just made it back in time for the lecture having flown back to the US and going through customs, the customs agent said he hadn't seen, "one of these passports" in a long time. Now, this happened five or six years after the infamous 9/11 that got the U.S. all diligent about homeland security, if he could reenter the U.S. with the Haudenosaunee passport why can't Our lacrosse team exit and enter? Maybe Oren had a reentry visa? I'm not sure of that detail. I digress.

Whether the Iroquois Nationals make it to England to play in the World Lacrosse Championships is really only part of the issue. I haven't heard word one of any other country standing in solidarity with the Haudenosaunee and not attending the games. It would seem at least Ireland would be supportive given their plight with colonization. What's at stake here are the issues of sovereignty and identity. The U.S. says the team can travel to England on a U.S. passport that the U.S. would be more than happy to supply, but in doing so they negate the nationality of the individual players, which was protected by the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 allowing Native Americans the right to vote in effect making them citizens of three sovereigns (tribal, federal, state), that wasn't granted in the fourteenth amendment, and the Indian Reorganization Act 1934 reestablished or appears to have reestablished tribal governments. These are U.S. laws that maintain Indigenous identity and sovereignty, which at this point in time are being challenged and reinterpreted by the U.S. to block a group of world class athletes from competing. They definitely are very menacing individuals and prove threatening to the international security of the U.S., which, let's not forget, allowed Tareq and Michaele Salahi entry into a Presidential State dinner in 2009. I'm all for secure borders, whatever that lofty and intangible concept may be, but denying access to the Iroquois Nationals to compete in England is not a battle one would think the U.S. would have chosen to fight, given the true asinine aspect of the entire issue. The Iroquois Nationals want to maintain their identity and sovereignty by not falling victim to colonization once again. Most people probably don't even realize that colonization exists, given the term post-colonial, but in effect it does exist, this recent issue is proof positive that colonization is working strong in America. Post-colonialism is a fallacy in the U.S.

Even with the assistance of Secretary of State, Hilary Rodham Clinton intervening with a letter previously requested by England for the reentry of the team back into the U.S. England has now changed its mind pertaining to that specific stipulation. Thank you England for not keeping your word.

Let Our players traverse the borders so they can compete, they aren't a national security threat, they will never end up on a terrorist watch list, nor do they want anything to do with harming the U.S., many of these players' relatives were here helping the colonialists battle against the crown, some may have fought with the French, some with the crown its self, but their relations have also fought in both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, protecting the very same borders these wars were waged to protect and the very same borders they are being denied travel.

News Articles pertaining to this specific situation:

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/iroquois_nationals_our_plan_is.html

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/07/14/sport.iroquois.passport.controversy/index.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/07/12/2010-07-12_iroquois_lacrosse_team_banned_from_flying_overseas_us_refuses_to_recognize_tribe.html

http://www.longislandpress.com/2010/07/14/iroquois-nationals-lacrosse-team-vsiroquois-nationals-lacrosse-team-vs-america/

http://iroquoisnationals.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94:nationals-media-re-&catid=35:statistics

SuperFly 2010

Well as quickly as it arrived it was over just as fast, that's right SuperFly 2010 seems to exist as a blurred memory of sorts. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, the flight cancellations and late arrival into Seattle, the early morning departure to the Lummi Nation, the missed orientation and introductions to some new faces due to my late arrival, the surreal rush through the end of the opening day? Apparently, I'll never know.

So, it was a wonderful success from my vantage point anyway. All the wonderfully screened pieces in the FutureWave section of the Seattle International Film Festival went over well and unfortunately the remainder of the shorts I sat through in this section of SIFF, well, had limited if any production quality. The one piece that really stood out for me was, "Omer," a documentary character study--my favorite and hopefully the audience choice award recipient. I didn't stick around for any more shorts in this program due to the poor production quality, it was self-induced torture at that point and I decided to exit.

Back to SuperFly 2010, as it is a hurried process it goes without saying that at some point it reaches a fevered pitch. This year I seemed to be the senior mentor of the group and decided early on to take a hands off approach to let two previous youth participants, now mentors, take over and run the production by giving the youth the run down and direction of production. I'm not saying that was a mistake, but in hindsight, I shouldn't have been as hands-off. I worked on some logistical aspects during our production meeting, since we lost our acting mentor somewhere in the ether. I approached another acting mentor to come speak with our youth in order to provide those that decided to act with some helpful tips and wisdom. When I returned, the pre-production meeting seemed to have gone down some unnecessary tangential path. Not to point any fingers or place blame, one of the mentors had a copy of Robert Rodriguez's fifteen year old book, Rebel Without a Crew, and was guiding the youth through it for no true purpose other than sheer excitement. It's a book that addresses making a film for around $7000 and in our particular instance we had no parallel to his situation. We were making a short, 4-5 minute narrative and we had all the technology needed without the worry of cost. I tried to bring the pre-production meeting back on point by directing the youth to decide what role, if any, they were going to play in the short production and having the other mentors decide a shot list and schedule. They seemed to do this with ease and eventually dealing with other logistics we called it a night, production was to start at 9am, or shortly thereafter once we had our equipment.

The day of production went fairly well. We met once again before getting our equipment to go over logistics, but somewhere in the thick of things the shot list seemed to be somewhat incomplete . . . this wasn't discovered until post-production when all footage had been captured. Editing was where the short was going to be won or lost. Now, I checked with our Lummi associate for a place away from traffic for us to set up our temporary editing suite. After having done this a bit of mutiny seemed to be going on in the mentor ranks and a mentor wanted to move our location in a room adjacent to another group's editing suite that had no door. Editing can be a very challenging process and I saw setting up next to another group as a distraction that would cost us in the long run, so senior mentor veto had to be put into play. We kept our current suite location and the process began. My experience as a SuperFly mentor has been centered around the youth and their desired positions within the production. At editing, we had a smattering of youth and all our mentors crammed in the suite location, which wasn't large, and didn't need to be. Since the capturing of footage was going to occur in real time I decided to let the youth editor, at this point, capture and I went for a walk through the facility that was our temporary home. I headed to the sound area to talk with the mentors there about what they would be able to offer us, at that point I was told once we had a rough cut they would sit down with us and discuss original music and sound fxs. I checked back with the group on occasion and when the editing process began I was pleasantly surprised to see our youth editor working away with minimal assistance from our other mentors, aside from the occasional input. As not seeing a need to remain I decided to visit other groups and ask how their productions went throughout the day and how their post-production was going. I also went into the room that the mentors were calling their home and sleeping, well the previous night anyway and nodding off here and there catching a few winks if one were so inclined. I met and spoke with an amazing woman and guest for a bit of time discussing art and artists mutually known. I eventually nodded off for about twenty minutes before I decided to get up and check on our group's editing progress. To my dismay and surprise there was really no true rough cut being worked on, it appeared that only three scenes had been placed within the time-line and these scenes were being edited at a snail's pace. The younger mentors asked if I wanted to see the progress, which was grossly apparent not to be true progress, but none-the-less I sat down and watched and eventually had to assume senior editor duties since our deadline for a rough cut was painfully close and the rough cut was far from near. Now disappointed as I was at the lack of forward progress, I had to step in and man the helm to assure a successfully completed rough, rough cut. About an hour to an hour and a half passed before the SuperFly heads stopped by to check on our progress and see a rough cut, and they did comment on how much we had been able to accomplish in that time frame. I believe, were it not for me getting back to the group and focusing the editing to create a viable rough cut for viewing, all might have been lost and we may have never reached our destined and appointed deadline.

I'm not placing blame on anyone but myself for the failure of our group to have been able to produce at 100%. In reality, these were youth and mentors on the edge of youth without time management skills or the true knowledge of what is needed to accomplish goals that have been placed before them. As hindsight is 20/20, I would have completely been involved in every aspect instead of taking a back seat and allowing the younger more novice mentors attempt to lead where they were incapable. I look back at the pre-production meetings, the production and post-production and realized exactly where things went wrong. I don't really recall the pre-production meetings having any steam or devoted involvement from our youth. Our youth seemed unmotivated, ill-equipped, unenthusiastic from years previous, which is always detrimental when needing individuals to assume certain roles with a production. The production itself seemed flawed at the start, once we were at our first location order seemed lost to boredom and indifference for the production. Although, once the initial scene was finally shot (virtually taking the longest to complete), the youth seemed to come to life and have more interest in what was taking place. Moving forward into the production it seemed that our youth lost interest, stepped out of their determined or chosen roles, and just hung on. Were it not for our wonderful lead actor, this production would have been a dismal failure. The lack of communication between the younger mentors and our youth is probably the one aspect most responsible for my criticism and my role as "hands-off" is very much to blame, although at the time I thought things were moving forward and getting accomplished. Once in that editing suite it was painfully apparent that shots were missing, neglected to have been either thought about or gotten. I don't think there was one reaction shot in the entire production, every shot focused on the character speaking or their action. It pains me to say that I think our group's final piece, although a good production, that's all it was, it could have been great and I failed in making that happen. Well, lesson learned and I truly apologize to the youth and younger mentors for having failed you in producing in the capacity we as a group could have produced.

The Digital Age will be the Death of Us

Recently, on my youtube channel, I received a request from another youtube user to subscribe to their channel because they "want to be a youtube star." I watched a portion of one of the individual's videos and as I was viewing it I noticed I was becoming more and more irritated with what I was watching. As an artist, I was critically analyzing the piece and I thought the graphic aspect was done well while the self-centered/reflective aspect was annoyingly asinine, especially given the lack of genuine humor emitting from what appeared to be a self-deprecating monologue. What bothered me most was an attempt at humor which was completely absent. In all fairness, I should provide a link to the user's channel to let you the reader formulate your own opinion, but I don't want to boost the person's view count allowing them to become a "youtube" star, nor do I want to contribute to making them a "youtube" star.

Why, you ask?

Completely fair question. The digital age has afforded us a luxury that society was completely devoid of until the mid- to late 1990s. With the advent of consumer grade/quality technology, average Americans, who never before possessed knowledge of media technology & theory, have inundated the Internet with gratuitously vapid digital media. As an artist schooled in the foundational arts (sculpture, photography, printmaking, drawing, painting, et cetera), I have been fortunate to study the masters in all disciplines getting a broad and vast education. This cannot be said with everyone bombarding the Internet with their vacuous digital media. Not only is the Internet a place guilty of aiding in the degeneration of America and the world, but television is at it in a more insidious manner. Reality TV has become a bastion for the imbecilic, the idiotic and the ignorant. What's more disturbing is that people watch these shows, some for the escapist reward that a half hour or an hour episode provides, but others watch these shows because their lives offer them no stimulation, no interest and they must feast on the moral turpitude these shows simulate for them to feel better about themselves. What people fail to understand is that Reality TV is only simulacra, but with the influx of some new technological gadget every week or so, it is all that is offered to provide some semblance of solace.

This is why the Digital Age will be the Death of Us. Not many people can remember a phone number aside from 9-1-1 anymore, I admittedly being one of them. I feel for the generations growing up within the Digital Age that will have no grounding in the older analog forms media was once. I not only feel for them, I fear for them. Yes, our lives and world are changing. It can be argued for better or for worse, but evolving has never been easy, just ask the old knuckle draggers and T-Rex. I remember a child that was learning how to tell time, unfortunately their parent taught them on a digital clock and when they were in a house with an analog clock they were completely at a loss. They couldn't fathom why the clock didn't tell them the time, or more accurately, why they couldn't tell time with the analog clock. This is but one example of what the Digital Age is doing to us. I am neither for or against the Digital Age per se, if I had to make a choice I'd go back to the Analog Age. We have become such a hurried and impersonal species with digital technology that I long for the days when my hand didn't cramp from filling out a check, ironic enough I know that I am blogging. I don't dislike the Digital Age, I have created some wonderful work digitally. It's the coming generations that I worry about, needlessly probably, but I still worry, they will have no recollection of things analog only what is written about them in history books or other texts and tomes. They will be borne into a world with a digital nipple in their mouths and they will be none the wiser. But, with that said, if digital technology continues to physically separate instead of connect individuals, then our species will definitely fall victim to our own constructs. We may evolve into something altogether different and adaptable to technology without the need for that physical connectivity, but as a species that is social, becoming anti- or unsocial does not seem to be part of the greater equation.

FLABmag

Check out the newest updates June 1st! FLABmag.com

May (NAISA) and June (SuperFly), 2010

So we are into May already! Wow, time has kinda of snuck by me and the Native American Indigenous Studies Association conference is closely upon us. In just over a week I head to Tucson for the conference and a meeting with a few scholars, most importantly a meeting with Dr. Philip Deloria to discuss the American Studies PhD Program at the University of Michigan as well as with Dr. Vince Diaz, it'll be nice to see Vince again. I will also get to meet with Dr. Joanna Hearne from the University of Missouri, busy time. I need to remember to schedule sometime with the sun! I think I'll have plenty of time on the 19th since I'm getting in at around noon. Currently, I am working on my presentation for the conference as well as getting some new video works in the fire for my upcoming exhibit at the Museum for Contemporary Native Art in Santa Fe in August.

Next month will be my fourth year returning to mentor at Longhouse Media/Native Lens SuperFly program, this is hands down my favorite event ever. I'd take this over winning awards any day. I think the youth are the ones that make this event special for me, they amaze me every year. It will be a busy upcoming three weeks, but I look forward to it all and am excited at the prospects.

That is what's on the plate for the next month, aside from my daily grind! See you in Tucson and Seattle, Lummi Country!

RoundUP, NAISA, NAICA, FLAB MAG, Athens International Film + Video Festival, and Terrance Houle

As any day starts out this one has been no exception. The click of my dog's nails on the hardwood floors woke me from sleep. My dog likes to sneak in my bedroom and check to see if I'm awake. Sometimes, I greet him and welcome the day, other times I just cringe to know it's time to wake up. Thankfully, I knew a fresh pot of coffee was just minutes away from being brewed. That would definitely lessen the impact of an early rise on Sunday morning.

So the near future has been plaguing most of my waking minutes. The uncertainty of it mostly, and the somewhat seemingly directionless wandering of my days. I have the Native American Indigenous Studies Conference (NAISA) to attend in Tucson at the end of May, which I recently found out I was presented to NAISA as an affiliate of Native American Indigenous Cinema and Arts Organization (NAICA), which I am, but NAICA has somewhat shape-shifted into the more encompassing FLAB MAG and now I see my future assignment for FLAB being coverage of NAISA. Too much usage of acronyms in one paragraph, time to move on. Needless to say, I am excited for this opportunity.

At the end of April, I am fortunate to have been accepted into the 2010 Athens International Film and Video Festival, which is 37+ years old. This festival is in Athens, OH a sleepy, quaint, little town snug in the hills of south-central Ohio. It is also home to Ohio University. I am ecstatic to attend this festival, and to be honest, I usually don't get excited, but I am feeling a little excitement already. I normally reserve my excitement a couples days prior to an event. I have three short pieces in the festival: The Mechanics of Being NDN, The Ecstasy of Indigeneity Or the Passion of Billy Jack, and Technical Difficulties: a Fraud and a Fake. The last two pieces subvert famous "representations" on Un-Indians in American media, whereas the first piece comments on the objectified Native, literally. These three pieces originated from a past exhibit entitled, Round-Up, at the Urban Shaman Gallery in Winnipeg, MB Canada in October 2009. Round-Up is traveling to Santa Fe, NM August 1st, 2010 - January 1st, 2011 at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts thanks to curator, Ryan Rice. I am already excited for this too.

Lately life has taken on the quiet hum of the mundane. Somewhere the routine infiltrated my life and pushed out creativity. It seems to have been a silent coup, no warning, no stirrings of unrest just the slow realization that something different is at the helm. Fortunately, friend and fellow artist, Terrance Houle has been able to talk me down from the ledges I find myself climbing, even as he himself has been enduring a change in his life. I am fortunate to have been asked to take part in one of his upcoming exhibits. In the fall, Terrance and I will be heading to Germany to collaborate on a video piece together and currently I am in pre-production on a feature length documentary that will utilize Terrance as the interviewer. Stay tuned.

Aimless - No GPS

Good-bye 2009, mundane and poisonous as you were. Hello 2010, thanks for starting off all jacked up without any clear indication of what you might be providing me in your first three months. This morning, I received notification from Ithaca College of my rejection for teaching in their film program, that makes three or four times now that I've literally applied for the same position and the third or fourth time that I've been rejected. Hmm? I know when I'm not wanted! Being that I only live a short drive away I thought I might be able to get my feet wet teaching in their program, but not even an adjunct bone has been tossed my way. This lone wolf is getting ravenous.

The beginning to this new decade is humming right along past me, as I practically lay prone in a defeated and beaten fetal position. Already? Jesus, it's a bit early for being beat down in 2010. I've gotta get my head above water and start treading like there's no tomorrow, tomorrow might just be as painful as today if things continue to go as capital as they have been last year and these past three months. I was looking forward to accomplishing a lot of things this year, but I feel so damned tired. Granted, daylight savings just ended and this time change has been taking somewhat of a toll on me, so maybe it's a temporary thing, it better be a temporary thing.

Although, I can say with the negative comes the positive, you can't have one charge without the other, can you? I don't think so. Some good has occurred within these past three months, which I believe balances out everything. Maybe I should look upon this as a fresh start? Like the board has been wiped clean. To be honest, I am a pessimist, that holds on to an ounce of optimism. Although that doesn't help me plod through all the muck and the mire.

I can say I've had the fortune of communicating with friend and fellow artist, TJ Houle and he's been helping me keep my outlook looking brighter than I have been able to illuminate it on my own. I am actually becoming the proud owner of one of his photographs, so my collection, small as it is, is slowly growing. We are planning on collaborating this year, and I am scraping and scrounging every cent to make sure it happens. I am also planning on meeting up with him in his travels to Toronto and NYC, which will be a grand meeting of the minds.

Ideas come and go, some get written down others are simply so fleeting there isn't even time to grab a pen and paper to catch them before they get lost in the ether. Lately, I feel like I have misplaced my pen and paper as I struggle to even piece together the ideas I have to make them coherent, but I also struggle to get the words out to enable myself to speak at times.

If it weren't for FLAB MAG, friend's Maria and TJ I think I'd become complacent in the position I am in, but I am warring to get out. I am hoping for great things and rearing my ugly head as hard as I can to make things happen, only time will tell if they will. There is hope, even without a GPS.

On the road to the 2010 NAISA Conference

Well, I'm not literally on the road yet, the conference isn't until May 20th, and I will be probably flying out on the 19th. I still have to purchase my tickets and soon. All I know is the panel I am on is presenting 8:00am on May 20th, first slot, first day. Good lord, I hope I will be coherent in my presentation. Thankfully, I am presenting one of my video pieces, "The Ecstasy of Indigeneity Or the Passion of Billy Jack." A deconstructed American cult icon film character re-edited to juxtapose the ridiculousness of the portrayal. Other than that, I am looking forward to being in Tucson to absorb sun, and meet many scholars. The unfortunate aspect is that friend and curator, Ryan Rice, who is bringing my Winnipeg exhibit, Round-UP to the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe sometime in August, will also be presenting at the exact time I am presenting, or the panel I am on will be presenting.

The Winter of My Discontent

It's been over a month since I've blogged last, not that anyone in cyberspace is keeping track. It appears that as I've grown older I am no longer immune to the dark, dreary, long days of winter in which I grew up. I long for the sun-filled days of Colorado and her majesty, but I feel that I've been held captive by Syracuse with no way out until a rental lease has ended and a job has been secured. We all know how the economy is and that has been a relatively good indicator of how thin the job market is and how unsuccessful my job search has been. Now to leave Syracuse and my friends and family might seem unfathomable, but the Southwest, the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, as well as the Pacific Northwest have been calling and their call is loud and clear. Where will I end up? I have no idea. But anywhere, where I can have a change of scenery and remove myself from this quagmire called Syracuse will help in establishing some long lost sanity while removing the overcast haze that has plagued my creativity.

FLAB and Film Festival Mania

Well, January roared through and I'm still tackling the construction of numerous DVDs for film festival submissions as well as compiling the requisite information to accompanied said DVDs. So, I have not had too much time to rant or rave about anyone or anything as of late, but keep an eye out for FLAB (http://www.flabmag.com) the wonderful Maria Colon's new online zine slated to launch March 1st, 2010!!! Woo Hoo! I won't tell you what the acronym stands for because you'll have to attend the live launch and enjoy the workout? So for all you fans of the beautiful NAICA zine and the gorgeous Ms. Maria and her busy staff, be there or I'll take this foot and hit you on that side of your face. Check out FLAB at fb: facebook FLAB

(images property of Maria Colon)

Where the blog gets its name . . .

This piece was one of four videos constructed for my solo exhibit at Urban Shaman Gallery in Winnipeg, Manitoba back in October. The title of this blogs gets its name from this piece.