Saturday, May 2, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Logan's Entry: More positive this time.
I thought I should add a more positive post here.
Here's my plan for the trip artistically speaking
#1 - Taking the greyhound bus is not just cheaper I thought it would allow me time and perhasp chances to simply ask the person sitting next to me to take a photo of me at every station we stop as a form of performative documentation. Allowing me to introduce conversation and stop fearing other in a sense. Rarely we speak to strangers I sometimes wonder who they are so maybe this would allow me to. This is a process of letting go of a part of me who lives in fear of stranger which I would like to let go of. I think the photos aren't really so important it is just the act of asking and introducing myself that is. I will note date, time, place and the first name of the person taking the photo for the title. I think this mini-project may end up called something cheesy like : The spring where I stopped fearing.
2# - As you may already know this farm looks like a good opportunity of merging into a new queer community and get real awesome shots of them outside in the daylight. This would actually be my first time to shoot in a not overly artificially controlled light environnement and I am thrilled. I am very curious of exactly what I am going to find. Plus working outside for something I believe in, eating organic and having a very non-smoking environnement to stop smoking seems just perfect at this moment. I will use a digital camera for proof shooting before so I will keep up posted on this one for sure. I hope this would be sufficient material to finish my degree with personnal satisfaction. I dropped last semester because I had nothing worth spending money on I felt so hopefully this would be good. I should defenitly ask for an independant study upon my return.
#3 - I should plan a new Drag King solo to offer performance at Ida this little queer music and art festival 8 miles away form my location. I would like to shoot some portraits there as well.
Here's my plan for the trip artistically speaking
#1 - Taking the greyhound bus is not just cheaper I thought it would allow me time and perhasp chances to simply ask the person sitting next to me to take a photo of me at every station we stop as a form of performative documentation. Allowing me to introduce conversation and stop fearing other in a sense. Rarely we speak to strangers I sometimes wonder who they are so maybe this would allow me to. This is a process of letting go of a part of me who lives in fear of stranger which I would like to let go of. I think the photos aren't really so important it is just the act of asking and introducing myself that is. I will note date, time, place and the first name of the person taking the photo for the title. I think this mini-project may end up called something cheesy like : The spring where I stopped fearing.
2# - As you may already know this farm looks like a good opportunity of merging into a new queer community and get real awesome shots of them outside in the daylight. This would actually be my first time to shoot in a not overly artificially controlled light environnement and I am thrilled. I am very curious of exactly what I am going to find. Plus working outside for something I believe in, eating organic and having a very non-smoking environnement to stop smoking seems just perfect at this moment. I will use a digital camera for proof shooting before so I will keep up posted on this one for sure. I hope this would be sufficient material to finish my degree with personnal satisfaction. I dropped last semester because I had nothing worth spending money on I felt so hopefully this would be good. I should defenitly ask for an independant study upon my return.
#3 - I should plan a new Drag King solo to offer performance at Ida this little queer music and art festival 8 miles away form my location. I would like to shoot some portraits there as well.
Logan's Entry: False Start #1
Bad start for the project.
I left Monday at 9 am in the greyhound bus for a 33 hours and 10 mins bus ride to Tennessee and it abruptly stopped an hour fifteen minutes later at Lacolle border.
I didn't had enough documentation of where I was going except a note written to myself in my moleskin. Long gone are the days where a not menacing Canadian without a criminal record could come and go easily I just learned. The questionnaire I was obviously so not ready to answer to, determined that my journey would stop there.
Agent Sherman was a good man inside I felt it. He just is American, obedient and has a boss to check on him looking mad in an attempt of giving himself self-worth or importance that is visible of some sort (the boss I mean). So they took my finger prints / photo and I had to ask what was it for or else they wouldn't tell me. Did they really told me? I don't know. Anyways Agent Sherman with the lack of proof regarding my motives to visit for 6 months concluded in a long process of filing my informations, researching my none existant criminal file, having computer problems to link the big computer that took my finger prints to his, having to start over 3 times with the finger prints linking thingy, consulting with superior and typing lenghtly something I hope was procrastination at work email decided that he could instruct me on what exactly (and I hope it is) in need in order to go to their country. Which was 3 hours later in a custom post where there's no drinkable water and I had none on me since I boarded the bus at the last minute. Indeed the bus had dropped all my belongings and myself 3 hours ago. So I was thirsty and starving by the time my dad got to the customs. I told him to come through the buses lanes since I was there. Mistake. As his car approaches slowly a gorilla agent runs and screams at him (through the windows I heard "Stop the F*ing Car !") 4 agents ran to backup I am yelling it's just my dad picking me up! Agent Sherman and his belly bouncing comes to the rescue. Paranoia is nation wide. Probably my dad is most likely to be a suicide bomb car. We're so not in Irak, relax !
So now I am going to try again. I had Hollywood the head of the house where I'll stay to get someone writing me a letter officially explaining that Woofing is a volunteer program where you work to learn about organic farming in exchange of room and board ONLY. no money, no illegal immigration, just learning and Art making on the program for me. And I will try again hopefully all will just go and Agent Sherman wasn't lying having me to waste my money and my time in futile efforts to cross the border.
I must add that it makes no sense in all these suspicions. I am from a country where everything IS better. We have free health care, quite inexpensive Universities, gay rights and I have friends and family, no criminal record. Why in the world I would want to sacrifice all this to immigrate illegally into a collapsing economy, where people voted not once but twice for an simpleton puppet named Bush .... oh wait we voted twice for one too: Harper ... that's because suburbs and Alberta want lower taxes and are selfish bitches... anyways the point is: it still makes more sense for them to smuggle through the border than for us.... then why the hell Canadian customs officers are so nice and have a VENDING MACHINE !
No photos were allowed at the US custom office too bad.
I left Monday at 9 am in the greyhound bus for a 33 hours and 10 mins bus ride to Tennessee and it abruptly stopped an hour fifteen minutes later at Lacolle border.
I didn't had enough documentation of where I was going except a note written to myself in my moleskin. Long gone are the days where a not menacing Canadian without a criminal record could come and go easily I just learned. The questionnaire I was obviously so not ready to answer to, determined that my journey would stop there.
Agent Sherman was a good man inside I felt it. He just is American, obedient and has a boss to check on him looking mad in an attempt of giving himself self-worth or importance that is visible of some sort (the boss I mean). So they took my finger prints / photo and I had to ask what was it for or else they wouldn't tell me. Did they really told me? I don't know. Anyways Agent Sherman with the lack of proof regarding my motives to visit for 6 months concluded in a long process of filing my informations, researching my none existant criminal file, having computer problems to link the big computer that took my finger prints to his, having to start over 3 times with the finger prints linking thingy, consulting with superior and typing lenghtly something I hope was procrastination at work email decided that he could instruct me on what exactly (and I hope it is) in need in order to go to their country. Which was 3 hours later in a custom post where there's no drinkable water and I had none on me since I boarded the bus at the last minute. Indeed the bus had dropped all my belongings and myself 3 hours ago. So I was thirsty and starving by the time my dad got to the customs. I told him to come through the buses lanes since I was there. Mistake. As his car approaches slowly a gorilla agent runs and screams at him (through the windows I heard "Stop the F*ing Car !") 4 agents ran to backup I am yelling it's just my dad picking me up! Agent Sherman and his belly bouncing comes to the rescue. Paranoia is nation wide. Probably my dad is most likely to be a suicide bomb car. We're so not in Irak, relax !
So now I am going to try again. I had Hollywood the head of the house where I'll stay to get someone writing me a letter officially explaining that Woofing is a volunteer program where you work to learn about organic farming in exchange of room and board ONLY. no money, no illegal immigration, just learning and Art making on the program for me. And I will try again hopefully all will just go and Agent Sherman wasn't lying having me to waste my money and my time in futile efforts to cross the border.
I must add that it makes no sense in all these suspicions. I am from a country where everything IS better. We have free health care, quite inexpensive Universities, gay rights and I have friends and family, no criminal record. Why in the world I would want to sacrifice all this to immigrate illegally into a collapsing economy, where people voted not once but twice for an simpleton puppet named Bush .... oh wait we voted twice for one too: Harper ... that's because suburbs and Alberta want lower taxes and are selfish bitches... anyways the point is: it still makes more sense for them to smuggle through the border than for us.... then why the hell Canadian customs officers are so nice and have a VENDING MACHINE !
No photos were allowed at the US custom office too bad.
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