Tag Island Life

Entries 15 Total

Thirty Days, Sixty Days

Sep 19, ’10 1:01 AM

Mark the time. As of this post’s publication I’ve been on island for thirty days. From my perspective it feels like no time has gone by at all, or like all the time in the world has past. It’s been an absolute blast so far. My friends have asked me as I was nearing the four week mark what impression I’ve made of this place. My answer stays the same, it’s absolutely amazing here and I can only look forward to the next sixty days with enthusiasm.

But what will time bring my way? Work? Travel? Something approaching a tan? Whatever life has in store for me here I’m sure the weather will be beautiful.

Also, the Facebook thing

On another note, I’d like to thank everyone who clicked my new Facebook like button in the rightmost column on this page. It’s a little something new I’m trying out. By clicking the “like” button your photo is added to the box and you become a lker of the kvncsy.com sister page on Facebook. Eventually I’d like to integrate FB’s comment system with my own, and adding the little box there is a start. (I’d welcome links or advise from any crack shot Facebook/WordPress programmers on how to do that.)

Comments (2)

The Projectionist

Sep 17, ’10 3:53 AM

Here’s a short film my good friend Gene Alexander put together way back when I was living on Aotearoa, that other island. Gene and I worked together at the Paramount, a great movie theater downtown Wellington. We filmed this over a few weekends and off-work evenings. Unfortunately I  was in Helena before the project was done, that left Gene and his editor without much to work with. “It reads more like a trailer,” Gene wrote in an e-mail to me.

I hope you enjoy the show!

Those Old Machines

Watching this again brought me right back to my last weeks in Wellington. The projectors at the Paramount were so much fun to work with. We we’re the only theater in town that could run reel to reel, so just like the old days you had to watch for the “cigarette burns” to que to for a changeover. (I never heard another projectionist call them cigarette burns, always “que dots” or “changeovers”.) A changeover takes place when you fire up the second projector just as the reel of film on the first runs out. The projectionist’s goal is making as smooth a transition as possible, no gaps, no overlaps.

Comments (1)

The Apartment

Sep 11, ’10 12:37 AM

The post introducing my little apartment lacked a photo of the exterior. Well, here it is in all of it’s glory. I live three floors up, behind the third door. Previously I had the floor all to myself, but as of a few days ago a neighbor moved in to the apartment to the right of mine. Except for some wall-quaking electric grinding/drilling sounds a few mornings ago, she’s been great.

Also for those of you who have asked for more photos, have you been checking my Picasa Web Albums? A lot of the photos I’ve taken are there along with many that didn’t fit into a post. So check ’em out.

TOMORROW: FORBIDDEN* ISLAND**!

Tomorrow PJ and I are doing the unthinkable, the unrecommended, the expressly forbidden. We are determined to visit… (Deep breath) Forbidden* Island**.

In preparation we have consulted a dizzy shaman who divined the island’s location and drew a map for us. According to the few decipherable scribbles, the journey will take us down a “dirt road” around a “mountain” to the treacherous stretch known only as “Forbidden Island Road.” From there, no man has returned [without having seen Forbidden* Island**].

When we return, nay, IF we return, I will make a post about it. An epic, forbidden* post.

* Island may not actually be forbidden.
** Also the island may not be an island.

Comments (4)

Saipan and Globalization

Jul 27, ’10 10:34 PM

This is an excellent short documentary on the current economic reality facing Saipan and the effects of globalization in the CNMI. They make Saipan out to be the canary in the coal mine; a view of the dangers America is facing, namely, empty factories, ruined malls, political corruption, and human exploitation. (Also a hint of China paranoia.)

It paints a grim picture of the place I’m heading to in three short weeks, but looking beyond the doom and gloom the video makes a better introduction than some other videos I’ve seen.

(For those of you outside the US where Hulu is broken, this link should work.)

Comments (3)

Saipan Or Bust!

Jul 13, ’10 5:24 PM

In less than five week’s time I’ll be traveling to Saipan for an extended stay.

Saipan is a part of the CNMI or the Commonwealth of Northern Northern Mariana Islands which is a handful tropical islands on the rim of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the world’s oceans. My friend Peter has been living and working there for the past year or so. I’ll meet him an his family there when I touchdown on August 19th, just in time to celebrate his dad’s 50th birthday.

The time is right for a dramatic change.

I’ve put in my notice at the print shop I work at and I’m in the process of cleaning and painting my apartment to sublet. Aesop warns against leaping into the unknown like this, but I’ve got a good feeling that this is going to be just right. Sure, there is a chance I’ll miss home and my family as soon as I’m gone. I’ll be giving up on a beautiful Montana summer and I’ll miss my brilliant nephew’s first birthday, but it’s time for a reboot and I can’t wait to get started!

Comments (9)